Dreadful Reading
by nightshadow28
Summary: "Dreadful reading!" thought Harry. /Hogwarts, the Order, the Ministry and, of course, the Golden Trio read the books in 1996 (5th year). No Slash. Starting in book one.
1. Prologue

**Hi, There.**

**Hope you like ti.**

* * *

It was another May day for Harry Potter, just classes, friends, homework, lead a secrete army, etc.

At lunch, however, the Toad stood up too much pleased with herself for everyone's liking.

"em...em" she coughed in a girly fashion "em...em... May I have your attention, please?" her voice was sweet but obviously fake.

Everyone left their food aside and groaned at the same time. Whispers about the darn woman and her decrees could be heard.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Today we'll have a special guest. So let's welcome the Minister Cornelius Fudge, his Junior Assistant Percy Weasley, Amelia Bones and Aurors: Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks." with that said she was the only one applauding, given the rest was either confused or just too suspicious.

The doors of the Great Hall got opened and the mentioned people walked in.

Tonks didn't stop walking but made some funny faces thanks to her metamorphic abilities, which only the ones who stood in Grimmauld Place noticed. Hermione and Ginny were having a hard time keeping a straight face.

They stood in front of the teachers's table meanwhile Umbridge began to speak again.

"As you know there's a student among us who's been spreading his lies about the-one-who-must-not-be-named being back. I, being concern of students tranquility, started pacing at the seventh floor thinking I needed a way to show everyone the truth. Then a door appeared and inside I found these books." she said gesturing a pile of books on the headmaster's table place. "I've tested the books with some spells, and I can guaranty everything read in them is true." She took a little pause to let the words 'sink in' and then with a nasty smirk said "The first book is named _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone."_

Right away there was an outburst of whispers and a wide-eyed Golden Trio, along with the Weasleys and the Order members.

The woman's smirk didn't last long, given a small fire appeared next to her, showing Albus Dumbledore, Alastor Moody, Hagrid, all the other Weasleys, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, who immediately waved at Harry.

Dumbledore spoke "Now Dolores, if these books describe Mr. Potter's privet life, you should count with his permission, wouldn't you?"

Madam Bones quickly agreed "He's right Dolores, is his legal right to decide whether or no we read the books."

A frown made its way to Umbridge's face, but it soon turned to a smirk. "Very well. If Mr. Potter is so sure you-know-who is back it will be in the books, therefore unless he's lying about it, he shouldn't have any objections, Right, Mr. Potter?"

The whole Hall looked expectantly at him, while he was having a mental battle. If he let them read them, they'll know the truth, but would know all the other things he has done and the thing he omitted like the basilisk's bit and the cruciatus curse, and above all, his home life. But then that would be a lack of respect for Cedric's death.

"Fine, you all may read it." said Harry in defeat making his way to the doors.

"Wait, Harry. Where are you going?" asked Remus.

"I don't want to be here when you read them."

"But how can we be totally sure the books are telling the truth if you don't relate?"

" Fine, just...just try to keep calm."

And with that Umbridge took the first book and began to read it "_Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone. _Chapter one: **The Boy-Who-Lived**".


	2. Book 1: C1- The Boy-Who-Lived

"Chapter one: **The Boy-Who-Lived**"

Everyone turned to looked at Harry while the adults took places at the teacher's table, except for Sirius and Remus, who went to sit at the Gryffindor table; Sirius next to Harry, and Remus besides Sirius. The moment they sat all wands pointed at Sirius. Sirius oblivious at this, ruffled his godson's hair and they began to catch up.

"Everyone listen, Sirius Black is innocent. I'm sure you'll hear more about it in the third book, I believe." said Dumbledore. The fact Sirius and Harry seemed to get along pretty well helped ease the hall.

Umbridge muttered something like "Liar old coot. First You-know-who being back and now Black innocent."

Everyone took their gazes away from Sirius when Umbridge started to read again, though they'd still keep an eye on him.

"**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were ****proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank ****you very much."**

"Boring!" sang Fred and George.

"Well, they're not to humor you" scolded Mrs. Weasley.

**"They were the last people you'd expect to be involved ****in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't ****hold with such nonsense."**

Most people frowned at this.

** "****Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which ****made drills.**

"Drills?" was heard, at which McGonagall answered with "You may ask the muggleborns or the muggle study teacher about this kind of thing."

She was responded with nods.

** He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although ****he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin ****and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which ****came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over ****garden fences, spying on the neighbors."**

_"So, same old Petunia, eh?" _Thought Snape

"Despicable people" said Angelina but then add "oh! sorry, Harry"

"No, it's Ok. They actually are."

The Hall gave him funny looks knowing it took a lot to get to Harry's bad side. What exactly was going on in that house?

**"The Dursleys had a small ****son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere."**

There were a few snorts from Harry, Ron, the twins and Sirius. which didn't go unnoticed, worrying everyone even more.

Then Ron said "Since when Dudley is considered 'small'?"

**"****The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a ****secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it."**

"Really? I thought they were perfectly normal" said Hanna Abbott.

**"They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the** **Potters."**

There were disbelieving looks filling the room.

"But they're your family!" said Susan.

"Well, maybe they changed their mind when Harry got there" Tonks tried to cheer up.

"Don't count on that." said quietly Harry putting his arms in the table and burring his head in them.

**"Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met** **for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a** **sister"**

"That's horrible!" cried Katie Bell.

** "because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as** **unDursleyish"**

"Not a word" said Hermione and Remus at the same time, provoking laughter at the Gryffindor table while they blushed.

**"as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to** **think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the** **street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but** **they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason** **for keeping the Potters away;"**

"Excuse me! But exactly what's wrong with my godson?!" said Sirius threateningly.

"You mean besides being reckless and a midget?" asked Ron innocently

"Oi!" interjected Harry causing laughter and little smiles around him.

"Yeah...I forgot about that, sorry kiddo"

"Gah" with that, Harry crossed his arms trying to look offended which, apparently, just made it funnier.

**"they didn't want Dudley mixing with** **a child like that."**

several "What?!" were heard through the Hall.

"As they should" said Umbridge under her breath, though was heard by the staff table, for the anointment of everyone except Snape and the Minister.

**"When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday** **our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to ****suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening** **all over the country.**

"Mysterious things? What does it mean mysterious things?" asked Ginny.

"I have a theory, Miss Weasley, but I'm sure we'll find out if we keep reading." said kindly Dumbledore, making Ginny blush and the twins to snicker.

**"Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his** **most boring tie for work,"**

"Who'd pick his most boring tie?!" shouted the twins outraged then turned to Harry and said "How did you survive in there?!"

Harry just shrugged in answer which, again, was noticed for everyone.

**"and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily** **as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair."**

"Horrible child! Any of my kids would even think of such a thing!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley, whose kids sing-sang "You can say it again".

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the** **window.**

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked** **Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but** **missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing** **his cereal at the walls.**

"Brat!" said many people outraged by the kid's poor behavior.

** "Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left** **the house. **

"Don't encourage him, you fool man!" shouted McGonagall.

"What's wrong with your family, Harry?" somebody asked.

"They're not my family. They're my relatives... It's different." Explained Harry bitterly, which made the Hall more worried about his home life. "And everything I can tell is before their eyes, Dudley can do no wrong."

"Guess it is the same for Saint Potter" said Draco Malfoy.

Harry's lack of answer got the students, even Draco, and the teachers uneasy, especially because he wasn't meeting anyone's eyes. Thankfully for Harry, they dropped it for now.

**He got into his car and backed out of number four's** **drive.**

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of** **something peculiar — a cat reading a map.**

"mmh... cats can't read maps" Said Hanna Abbott.

"Blimey! And here was I-"

"thinking cats could read maps!" mocked Fred and George, being rewarded with snickers.

As Hanna blushed and looked down with embarrassment, something clicked in the insides of one Neville Longbottom. Not knowing what had happen nor why he suddenly felt braver, Neville got up, filled himself up with all his courage and said "You're speaking like you, yourselves have do no wrong. She was simply stating a fact." It wasn't the argument that made everyone shoot him shocked looks, no, it was the determination in his voice, something unexpected from the shy chubby boy that got here around five years ago.

Before Neville's courage failed him before all the eyes in the school, Harry began to clap his hands approvingly and slowly most adults and students joint. Fred and George did it gladly at the thought of Neville being a true Gryffindor.

"Quiet!" shouted Umbridge so irritably, you'd think Peeves has been following her all day.

** For a second, Mr.** **Dursley didn't realize what he had seen — then he jerked his head** **around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner** **of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he** **have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr.** **Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back.**

For some reason Dumbledore's eyes started twinkling.

** As Mr. Dursley** **drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in** **his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive — no,** **looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs. **

The twins gave Hanna a funny look and opened their mouths to speak, but were stopped by a glare from Neville.

**Mr. Dursley** **gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he** **drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of** **drills he was hoping to get that day.**

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by** **something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he** **couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely** **dressed people about. People in cloaks.**

"That's not strange!" said somebody.

"It is, for muggles."

** Mr. Dursley couldn't bear** **people who dressed in funny clothes — the getups you saw on** **young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion.**

"Bet he loved taking you to buy your robes." said Dean sarcastically.

"Specially because he didn't" muttered Harry, but was heard nonetheless.

** He** **drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a** **huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by.**

"Weirdos?" asked daringly lots of people.

**They were whispering** **excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a** **couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older** **than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of** **him! **

When there were gasps at the magic-hating, the twins decided to light the mood.

"Huh! The nerve of him!" they said together.

Moody seemed ready to give a speech about being discrete and constant vigilance.

**But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some** **silly stunt — these people were obviously collecting for something** **. . . yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few** **minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot,** **his mind back on drills.**

**Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office** **on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to** **concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping****ing past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; ****they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. ****Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime.**

"Weird!"

** Mr. ****Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He ****yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone ****calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood ****until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk ****across the road**

Harry raised an eyebrow.

** to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

_"oh! that's more like him." _Thought Harry.

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a** **group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he** **passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy.**

_"Guess I'm having fun this summer after all...or spend it at the shed." _with that thought Harry smiled mischievously.

"Psst, Kiddo, whatever you're planning, include me" said Sirius. At Harry's innocent look he explained "Your dad had the same smile when he planned a prank."

**This** **bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single ****collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large** **doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were** **saying.**

**"The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard —"**  
**"— yes, their son, Harry —"**

"So, it was _that_ day" sighed Molly Weasley.

Most people was looking down, needing a silent moment to put themselves together, but Umbridge being the heartless b-...witch she was, read on.

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead. **

"Yay!" cried the twins.

"Boys!" scolded Molly, missing the little cringe that overcame Harry. Moody, Tonks, Sirius and Remus,on the other hand, didn't.

**Fear flooded him. He looked back at** **the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but** **thought better of it.**

**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office,** **snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone,** **and had almost finished dialing his home number when he** **changed his mind.**

"Coward" said Harry under his breath.

** He put the receiver back down and stroked his** **mustache, thinking . . . **

"Must of have hurt" said Harry before realizing it was him speaking, as soon as this happened his eyes widened and he blushed a deep pink shade.

Even Molly was too shock to scold (not that she could bring herself to do it, anyways), let's not talk about the rest of the room.

"Harrykins, we didn't-"

"know you had it in you!-"

"We'll only have to work on-

making a good liar of you-"

"and you'll be ready to be an official prankster!" the twins finished together the last part, while the hall cheered and the staff flinched in their seats. If James Potter's son joint those twins...better not think about it.

"Detention for disrespect, Mr. Potter. Tonight at 7 o'clock." smirked Umbridge at having the proofs of the boy's lies and reasons to give him detention.

Harry glared at her for a few seconds before Ron spoke to his ear "Don't push it, you have enough detentions as it is."

Harry looked away from everyone, leaving Umbridge to smirk triumphantly yet again.

**no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such** **an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter** **who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even** **sure his nephew was called Harry. He'd never even seen the boy. It ****might have been Harvey. Or Harold. **

"How could he not know your name?" asked a concerned Molly.

"Well, they did mentioned she pretended not to have a sister." answered Harry quietly.

"I know, dear. But still..."

Snape's eyes widened at Harry's answer. He had been too busy seeing his old enemy on the boy, he had forgotten how Petunia could be. But no, surely Petunia wouldn't mistreat the child, after all no mistreated child was this arrogant and spoiled.

**There was no point in worrying ****Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her ****sister. He didn't blame her — if he'd had a sister like that . . .**

"There's nothing wrong with Lily!" bellowed Sirius and Remus with rage. They had grown to love Lily as a sister.

Dumbledore saw Snape carefully, watching him look murderously at the book, probably imagining himself torturing the man and his wife.

** but all ****the same, those people in cloaks . . .**

**He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon** **and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried** **that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

**"Sorry," he grunted,**

"So he knows the word" said many.

_"when he speaks with anyone but me"._ Thought Harry bitterly. His emotions most of have shown on his face because the Order, the D.A. and most teachers frowned.

**as the tiny old man stumbled and almost** **fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man** **was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost** **knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a** **wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare,** **"Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice,** **for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself** **should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and** **walked off.**

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a** **complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle,** **whatever that was. **

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE" yelled Moody.

"yeah, yeah. We know, Mad-Eye." said Tonks.

**He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off** **for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never** **hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

"How can you no approve imagination?!

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he** **saw — and it didn't improve his mood — was the tabby cat he'd** **spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He** **was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its** **eyes.**

"Marking around its eyes?... Professor McGonagall?" asked Hermione looking up at the staff table.

Everyone looked expectantly.

"The marks around my eyes aren't that unusual, are they, Miss Granger?" answered the professor, receiving just raised eyebrows and knowing smiles.

**"Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

**The cat didn't move. **

"Of course not, it's-"

"-Professor McGonagall we're talking about" said the twins, getting a few laughs from everyone who knew the professor well enough.

**It just gave him a stern look. **

"Typical Minnie" whispered Sirius to Remus.

"Just for you" Sirius tried to look hurt, but being with his old friend again was still a fresh feeling. Everything Sirius let out was a little smile. It was good to be out.

**Was this normal** **cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together,** **he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to** **mention anything to his wife.**

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner** **all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how** **Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!"). Mr. Dursley tried to** **act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the** **living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

**"And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the** **nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although** **owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight,** **there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every** **direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls** **have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed** **himself a grin. **

"He knows!" said many people.

"I wonder who he is?" wondered a 2nd year Ravenclaw.

**"Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim** **McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls** **tonight, Jim?"**

**"Well, Ted," said the weatherman,**

"It's my dad!" cheered Tonks, but stopped when she saw the look on Moody's face.

** "I don't know about that, but** **it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as** **far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to** **tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a** **downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating** **Bonfire Night early — it's not until next week, folks! But I can** **promise a wet night tonight."**

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over** **Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all** **over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters . . .**

"Couldn't they be careful?! They were practically giving our world away! If a stupid muggle could put it together..." grumbled Moody shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Come on, Mad-eye. It's not like they were shouting it." offered Tonks.

"They could of have as well done that."

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of** **tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared** **his throat nervously. "Er — Petunia, dear — you haven't heard from** **your sister lately, have you?"**

**As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After** **all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

There were some growls at this.

Harry just wanted to get out. Hopefully after this chapter he'd be let out.

**"No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

**"Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls . . .** **shooting stars . . . and there were a lot of funny-looking people in** **town today . . ."**

"So?" said Malfoy indifferently.

**"So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

Malfoy's face was of pure disgust. The Slytherins were eyeing him weirdly, after all, he had just agreed with a muggle!

**"Well, I just thought . . . maybe . . . it was something to do** **with . . . you know . . . her crowd."**

"What does he mean by 'her crowd'?" asked Katie Bell angrily.

"Wizards and witches" answered Hermione looking quite unhappy about it.

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley** **wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter."** **He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could,**

**"Their son — he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

**"I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

**"What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

Harry made a disgusted face. He was very defensive of his name, not for the reasons everyone thinks.

"Come on, Prongslet. I wouldn't have let James and Lily name you something as horrible as that." Laugh Sirius, sightly amused.

"Really? If I recall you wanted to name him Sirius II." Said Remus. Harry looked mock-sicken at Sirius.

As Sirius let out his infamous bark-like laugh and ruffled, yet again, Harry's hair. "You should be honored of almost being named after me."

"Almost being key word" responded Harry.

Many people laughed at this. Even most of the teachers had a smile at that, remembering young Sirius-James relationship

"I'm wounded! My own godson!I can't believe it!" cried Sirius mock-offended.

"Don't"

"You know what, Harry James? Your cheek starts to be annoying." laugh Sirius.

Before another cheeky answer could take place, Umbridge continued her reading.

**"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"You'd think they like normal stuff" said Angelina.

"As normal as possible for someone-"

"-who names his kid 'Dudley'" said Fred and George.

**"Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I** **quite agree."**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs** **to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley** **crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden.** **The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as** **though it were waiting for something.**

"What were you waiting for, Professor?" asked Dean.

"I wa-" McGonagall was interrupted by Umbridge, who just kept reading, provoking the Transfiguration teacher to glare at her.

**Was he imagining things?**

"Yes, you're imagining you didn't marry a horse and your son isn't a whale" said Ginny.

"GINNY!" scolded Molly but wasn't payed much attention.

After a round of laughter, Neville spoke.

"You're spending too much time with the twins, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess" giggled Ginny.

** Could all this have anything to do ****with the Potters? If it did . . . if it got out that they were related to ****a pair of — well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

"Did he bear it?"

Everyone knew Harry was usually shy when speaking to a lot of people, but this lack of answer was alarming.

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but ****Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, ****comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters** **were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and** **Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia** **thought about them and their kind. . . . **

"What does she exactly think about 'our kind'?" Asked Professor Sprout.

Again, there was no answer.

**He couldn't see how he** **and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going** **on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn't affect them. . . .**

**How very wrong he was.**

At those words, the hall turned to see a grim expression on Harry's face.

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but** **the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was** **sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner** **of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door** **slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead.** **In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared** **so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just** **popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

"Who was it, Professor?" asked urgently Colin, wanting to know every detail of his hero's great life.

"I'm sure the book mentions it, Mr. Creevey." said McGonagall sternly.

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He** **was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and** **beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was** **wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and** **high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and** **sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long** **and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice.**

The students turned to face their Headmaster. Most of them raising eyebrows or insinuating: "Professor?"

** This** **man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

Cheers exploded , except for some scowls. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling furiously.

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived** **in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome.**

"I quite did." said Dumbledore beaming at the questioning looks.

**He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something.** **But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he** **looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from** **the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat** **seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have** **known."**

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It** **seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up** **in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a** **little pop. He clicked it again — the next lamp flickered into darkness.**

"Wicked!" exclaimed Ron.

"Indeed it is, Mr. Weasley. The deluminator is one of my greatest inventions." replied Dumbledore, rather lacking of humility.

**Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights** **left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance,** **which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out** **of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't** **be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement.** **Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set** **off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the** **wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he** **spoke to it.**

**"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

"Professor!"

"Yay!"

"McGonagall!"

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was** **smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square** **glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its** **eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair** **has drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.**

**"How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

**"My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

Students, the staff, Bill, Charlie and Sirius tried to contain their laughter, but as it was nearly impossible given the stern reputation of the Professor, it suddenly found its way out of the mouths of said persons.

The Hall breathed glee and giggles until the deathly glare of certain professor made it stop at once.

**"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said** **Professor McGonagall.**

**"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have** **passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**

"You went 'partying' right after James and Lily died?!" asked most professors.

Dumbledore shrugged a bit and answered "It had been so many years without something worth celebrating for."

This didin't calm them down, but at least they weren't screaming at him anymore.

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

" Of course I did!"

**"Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently.**

**"You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles** **have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She** **jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I** **heard it. Flocks of owls . . . shooting stars. . . . Well, they're not** **completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting** **stars down in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He** **never had much sense."**

"Now you sound like Mad-eye, Professor McGonagall" laughed Tonks.

Moody just grumbled, making her go quiet.

**"You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had** **precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**

**"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's** **no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless,** **out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle** **clothes, swapping rumors."**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as** **though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so** **she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-****Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found** **out about us all. **

"I can't say _all_ muggles would treat magic people like that, or be jealous about it." tried Hermione.

"What about the Dursleys?" said Harry

"I said not _all._ That certainly doesn't include them. I was talking about people like my parents"

"Oh, yeah, right. Sorry."

The little chat made everyone wonder. Why had Harry called his family 'The Dursleys'? Why did he and Hermione categorized them like bad people?

**I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?"**

Everyone who didn't know whether they believe Harry or not, leaned forward.

**"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore.**

"See? Dumbledore admits it himself." Umbridge interrupted herself.

"I did said that in the past. However, now we're under different circumstances."

"We'll see that." muttered Umbridge retaking the reading before Harry could make any disrespectful remark.

** "We have much to be** **thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

**"A what?"**

**"A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather** **fond of." **

**"No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though** **she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say,** **even if You-Know-Who has gone —"**

**"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call** **him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven** **years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his** **proper name: Voldemort." Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore,** **who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice.** **"It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I** **have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's** **name."**

"Of course it's easy for you, sir. You're the only wizard You-Know-Who's been afraid of." said Bill

"You flatter my Mr. Weasly, but I don't think that's true. At least not anymore." He eyed Harry while saying the last part.

**"I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half** **exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows** **you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened** **of."**

"What you think? You think like McGonagall, Bill!" snickered Charlie at Bill's stunned expression.

**"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had** **powers I will never have."**

**"Only because you're too — well — noble to use them."**

**"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam** **Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**

Giggles came down the Hall once again, causing Madam Pomfrey to blush for the very first time any student can recall.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and** **said, "The owls are nothing next to the rumors that are flying** **around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared?** **About what finally stopped him?"**

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she** **was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting** **on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had** **she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It** **was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going ****to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore,** **however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

In the Hall the enviroment was anxious, as well. They wanted to hear Dumbledore's answer as much as McGonagall had, at that time.

**"What they're saying," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort** **turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters.** **The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are — are — that** **they're — dead."**

**Dumbledore bowed his head.**

As did Remus, Sirius, the Weasleys, the rest of the Order, Hermione, most of the teachers and, mainly, Harry, who was fighting back tears.

His parent's deaths had always been a touchy issue because anybody would talk too much about them or their deaths, he never had a closure and the question of

** Professor McGonagall gasped.**

**"Lily and James . . . I can't believe it . . . I didn't want to believe** **it . . . Oh, Albus . . ."**

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I** **know . . . I know . . ." he said heavily.**

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's** **not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potters' son, Harry.**

Remus, Sirius and Molly paled at that. What would of have happen if he had succeed?

**But — he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows** **why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry** **Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — and that's why he's** **gone."**

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

**"It's — it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's** **done . . . all the people he's killed . . . he couldn't kill a little boy?** **It's just astounding . . . of all the things to stop him . . . but how in** **the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

"My mom sacrificed for me." said quietly Harry.

**"We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and** **dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great** **sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It** **was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead,** **little planets were moving around the edge. It must have**

**made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his** **pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd** **be here, by the way?"**

**"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're** **going to tell me why you're here, of all places?"**

**"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the** **only family he has left now."**

At that Harry looked down and Ron patted him on the shoulder. He didn't know how thinks were like at Privet Drive, but he knew how difficult the subject was for his bast mate.

**"You don't mean — you can't mean the people who live here?"** **cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at** **number four. "Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them** **all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And** **they've got this son — I saw him kicking his mother all the way up** **the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"**

"Thanks for trying, professor." Although Harry said this very quietly, Sirius and Remus heard him and shared worried looks.

**"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt** **and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older.** **I've written them a letter."**

"A letter?! Excuse me, sir, but you couldn't possibly explain everything in a letter!" said Hermione rather alarmed. "And why would you need to leave a letter if you had gone to the house, unless..." Everyone looked expectantly at her. "You left him on the doorstep, didn't you?! How could you?! It was nearly winter and it was going to rain!"

For a second almost everyone was in shock. Hermione never lost her temper in public, or so they thought.

A moment later the words sank in to Molly and most the female population.

"ALBUS! IS THIS TRUE?!" roared Sprout and Pomfrey. Dumbledore quickly nodded. The two angry professors's gaze turned to Minerva. "AND YOU LET HIM?!"

McGonagall had the graciousness to look ashamed.

Harry stood up before anyone could star hexing.

"Professors, please, stop it. I'm fine, nothing serious happened. Now, can we go back to the reading?" he asked politely.

The teachers nodded but kept with their glares fixed at the Headmaster.

**"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back** **down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain** **all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be** **famous — a legend — I wouldn't be surprised if today was known** **as Harry Potter Day in the future — there will be books written** **about Harry — every child in our world will know his name!"**

**"Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top** **of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's** **head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something** **he won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off he'll** **be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

"You obviously didn't wait long enough." commented Snape to himself, being heard by nearly everyone, but was sent a warning look from Dumbledore.

Harry blanched at the thought of being kept at the Dursleys any longer than needed, which caught everybody's attention.

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, ****swallowed, and then said, "Yes — yes, you're right, of course. But**

**how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly** **as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath** **it.**

**"Hagrid's bringing him."**

**"You think it — wise — to trust Hagrid with something as important** **as this?"**

"I'd trust Hagrid with my life" said Harry

"...but not secrets." finished Ron. They both nodded at Hagrid.

**"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

Harry wasn't exactly happy of thinking the same as the man who had refused to look at him in the eyes and hadn't make anything to stop this reading.

**"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor ****McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless.** **He does tend to — what was that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It** **grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for** **some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up** **at the sky — and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed** **on the road in front of them.**

"That's my bike!" said Sirius looking exited.

The students worried instantly at the thought of the murder Sirius Black appearing at Harry's house.

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting** **astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least** **five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so** **wild — long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his** **face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their** **leather boots were like baby dolphins.**

The students seemed relief. Obviously this wasn't Black.

** In his vast, muscular arms he** **was holding a bundle of blankets.**

**"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And** **where did you get that motorcycle?"**

**"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing** **carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black** **lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**

"I've got to take you on a ride on it, sometime. Of course, as soon as Hagrid gives it back" Sirius said to Harry.

"You will certainly not do such thing, Sirius Black! It's too dangerous!" cried Molly.

"And why wouldn't I? He's _my _godson. It's my right to do so."

For once Umbridge did one good thing and kept reading before Sirius and Molly got any further argument.

**"No problems, were there?"**

**"No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all** **right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as** **we was flyin' over Bristol."**

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the** **bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep.** **Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously** **shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

**"Is that where — ?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

**"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

Unconsciously Harry tried in vain to flatten his hair over the scar, as everybody stared.

**"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

**"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one** **myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground.** **Well — give him here, Hagrid — we'd better get this** **over with."**

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the** **Dursleys' house.**

**"Could I — could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He** **bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must** **have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid** **let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

**"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"**

"Don't be so sentimental-"

"-dear Professor McGonagall" said the twins.

"Messrs. Weasly!"

**"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief** **and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it — Lily an'** **James dead — an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles —"**

**"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or** **we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid ****gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden** **wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the** **doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's** **blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute** **the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's** **shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the** **twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed** **to have gone out.**

"Wow! That doesn't happen very often, does it?" said Bill.

**"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business** **staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

**"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'd best get this** **bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore,** **sir."**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung** **himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a** **roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

**"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said** **Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose** **in reply.**

The room would'a have made some unflattering remarks at this, but with all the sad mentions of what happened that Halloween, they weren't in the mood.

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the** **corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it** **once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so** **that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a** **tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street.** **He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number** **four.**

**"Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and** **with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**

More death glares made its way to Dumbledore, making him feel uncomfortable and worried at what would they do when they found out about the Sorcerer's Stone at the end of the book.

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent** **and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect** **astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his** **blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter** **beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing** **he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few** **hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door** **to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few** **weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley. . . .**

****"Longer than that" muttered Harry.

** He** **couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret** **all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in** **hushed voices: "To Harry Potter — the boy who lived!"**

"That's the end of the chapter." announced Umbridge.

" Thank you, Dolores. I'd like to make clear I put some protective and warming spells, so Mr. Potter would be safe."

"You better have. The boy's too unhealthy looking as it is. And yes, Mr. Potter, you are and you know it." said Pomfrey as Harry crossed his arms frowning.

* * *

**A.N: **

**So that was it!**

**I know I took a long while, but writing this kind of stories is harder than it looks like!**

**Hope you enjoy and, please, let me know what you think about it (good or bad).**

**Thank you.**


	3. Book1: C2-The Vanishing Glass

**Book3-C2-The Vanishing Glass**

When the first chapter was over, and as soon as Professor Burbage finished her explanation about the mentioned muggle things, Harry made his way to the door.

"Harry, wait! Where are you going?" asked Tonks, making everyone turn to look at Harry, who was inches away from the doorway.

"Well, as Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Hagrid have made clear the book says the truth, I'm leaving, now." Harry inched closer to the door. "I really don't want to be here when you read it."

"Why not? I mean, wouldn't it be cool to all of us getting to know more about you, Harry?" said a cheerful Colin.

Harry let out a tired sigh. "No, Colin, it wouldn't be, but not for the reasons you think...Now, why don't you all keep reading while I go and, I don't know,...sleep...uh...do schoolwork, or something?"

"Harry, please, stay. Come on, Prongslet, what's the worst that could happen." pleaded Sirius walking towards Harry. Harry looked anxious and tired.

"Thanks, but no. I'd prefer do anything but read those books out loud."

"Harry, you're not the only one who's going to get in trouble with these books. Ron and I already accepted that." said Hermione. Hermione had that gift of hers to make Harry feel selfish or like he had done the wrong thing.

"It's not trouble I'm afraid of." said simply Harry letting himself being walk back to his seat by his Godfather. Everyone eyed him taken back. Definitely there was something wrong with him...or his family, most likely.

"Hey, kiddo, we won't let anything bad happen. Do you trust the word of your extremely good-looking Godfather?" said Sirius in a soothing voice.

"Where is he? Why anyone told me I had a _good-looking _Godfather?" teased Harry.

Sirius tried to look outraged, but it was hard and decided to laugh along with everyone else. "You're really a marauder's son! Just wait to the end of these books and I'll give you some advice for pranking." Sirius said this quietly enough as to not be overheard.

Harry forced a smile, only Merlin knew how long he'd be showing his face in public.

"Alright, now that that's settled, who's going to read the next chapter?" said Dumbledore.

"I will." answered Madam Pomfrey. "**Chapter 2- The Vanishing Glass"**

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken** **up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive** **had hardly changed at all. **

"Boring!" sang Fred and George.

"Boys! Didn't I already tell you they're not to humor you?!" scolded Molly.

**The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens** **and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door;** **it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same** **as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful** **news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece** **really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago,** **there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink** **beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets —**

There were mostly confused looks at this.

"Photographs of a beach ball? Why would someone have that?" said Colin.

"What's a beach ball?" asked some pure-blood.

"A light, plastic ball for playing at the beach." answered Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies teacher.

"Your relatives are crazy, Harry." said most of the first and second years. Harry just shrugged.

** but Dudley Dursley** **was no longer a baby,**

"I should of have known, mate. Saying your cousin's the 'biggest' person I've ever known it's an understatement." said Ron between laughs.

"RONALD!" scolded Molly "Don't insult people!"

"He deserves it mom!" said defensibly Ron, Fred and George.

Molly was a little taken back, and was at point to continue her scolding, but Madam Pomfrey quickly started reading again, hoping to know the reasons for Harry to be so thin and unhealthy looking.

** and now the photographs showed a large** **blond boy riding his first bicycle,**

"Ouch!-"

"-poor bike-"

"-must of have hurt-"

"-for so much weight"

"FRED! GEORGE!"

** on a carousel at the fair, playing** **a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his** **mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the** **house, too.**

"Why not, Harry?" asked Remus blankly and a bit too quietly. Harry did nothing but shrugging and looking down.

Sirius shared a look with Remus before saying. "Come on, kiddo. You know you can trust us, right?"

The answer didn't come any near from what everyone expected. Harry kept silent for a moment before hesitantly nodding his head, not taking his gaze from his lap.

Sirius closed his eyes, not wanting the pain to show in them. His godson wasn't trusting him. Yeah, it's true they haven't seen each other a lot, but still... Well, he'd show Harry he could trust him, and for Remus's look, he was thinking along the same lines. They nodded at one another in a silent understanding and waited for the reading to resume.

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not** **for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice** **that made the first noise of the day.**

**"Up! Get up! Now!"**

Harry winced a little at that. Being waken up by that sound for years wasn't pretty and always meant he would have to put up with _them._

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.**

**"Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the** **kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the** **stove. **

"How come you could hear that?" asked Hermione.

"My...'room' was near the kitchen." answered nervously Harry.

"Mr. Potter, I spent a whole day watching that house and there wasn't any bedroom in the ground floor." Professor McGonagall narrowed her ayes at him.

"I'm sure the book will explain." Harry gained a little more time without pitying looks, but he knew they'd come eventually. Maybe he could make a run with nobody noticing when they'd read _that_ part.

**He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he** **had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying** **motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream** **before.**

"How is it possible you remember that?" asked an impressed Cho.

Harry smiled sheepishly, although their date at Valentine's day was a disaster, he hadn't get over his crush. "I didn't know it was a memory, I thought it was a dream."

"It's really impressive, Harry." said Cho in a flirty way. Harry gave a goofy smile, flushing. Everyone saw the conversation. Sirius gave him a knowing look, while Ginny scowled at Cho. Some teachers weren't still over the fact Harry could remember an event from that long ago; some were even fearing he could remember about the murder of his parents. The teachers who saw the exchange between Harry and Cho, were holding back giggles.

The look on Ginny's face clearly suggested she wanted to try her Bat Bogey Hex at a certain Miss Chang.

**His aunt was back outside the door.**

**"Are you up yet?" she demanded.**

**"Nearly," said Harry.**

"Boys!" groaned-chuckled Hermione. Harry turns expectantly at Hermione, a little too fast. People near them noticed worriedly. Why would he react like that at that word?

**"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And** **don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's** **birthday."**

"It was just looking after the bacon, not actually cooking, right, dear?" asked Molly in a deadly quiet voice.

"Of course, Mrs. Weasley."

**Harry groaned.**

"Did you groan because of cooking or your cousin's birthday?" asked Dennis.

"Cooking?" answered Harry, thought it sounded more like a question.

**"What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**

**"Nothing, nothing . . ."**

**Dudley's birthday — how could he have forgotten? Harry got** **slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair** **under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them,**

Ron winced and closed his eyes at the mention of spiders. Harry would of have patted him in the back supportibly, if it wasn't for the fact he was getting ready to flee.

** put them** **on. Harry was used to spiders,**

"How can you get used to _them_?" asked Ron still disgusted at the thought.

"Sorry, Ron."

This was it, as soon as everyone turned their attention from him, he'd go for the door and probably hide at the Room of Requirement.

** because the cupboard under the** **stairs was full of them,**

Harry quickly got up from his seat and made a run for the door, but Madam Pomfrey didn't seem to notice as she kept reading.

Many students looked confused. A common phrase at the moment was: "What does the cupboard has to do with it?"

** and that was where he slept.**

That was the last Harry heard as he was already out of the Great Hall, now truly running. He'd figure out to where later, right now he just needed to be away.

Madam Pomfrey let go of the book and kept frozen trying to digest the information. The only sound there was for a few moments, was the book falling on the ground.

Finally, when the meaning of those words finally sunk in, Snape was shocked. Surely that wasn't true, after all, it wasn't even probable. But he, then, admitted to himself it was the truth. Everything written in the book was true. One thought guided to another, and Snape got to a feared one. If he had hidden the cupboard subject for so long, what else was he hiding?

"Are you sure you read that right?" asked too quietly Molly.

Madam Pomfrey nodded blankly.

"What kind of person puts_ their_ nephew in a cupboard?! That's it, if they call themselves persons?!" yelled Molly.

"I'm gonna kill them! How dare they?..._My_ godson!..." ranted Sirius. Remus would of have been, too, if it wasn't for the wolf inside him wanting to get out and seek revenge so bad.

"Why didn't he tell anyone?...Ron! Hermione! Did you know this?" asked dangerously Arthur. They shook their heads, looking confused themselves.

"Where's Harry?" realized Hermione, looking teary.

Everyone stopped their shouting and glaring at the book, and looked around hoping to find Harry. At last their eyes rested at the opened doors. The Order, McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, the Weasley kids, Hermione, Neville and, even Snape, walked outside the Hall.

"Where could he have gone?" asked Sirius.

"Let's split. Black, Lupin, you two look outside -will be easier for your increased senses-. McGonagall and Pomfrey to Gryffindor's common room. Shacklebolt, Arthur, the bathrooms-..." Moody's rant was interrupted by Hermione.

"There's no need for that. We" She gestured to the present members of the D.A. "know exactly where Harry could of have gone."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Spill it out, girl!" grumbled Moody.

Ron was about to bellow not to talk to her like that, when, surprisingly, Snape spoke. "And what, exactly, are you planning to do when you get to Potter?" he asked without his usual scowl, and what was it in his eyes? Concerned? Sympathy, perhaps?

The large group was dumbfounded. They hadn't thought about it.

"And what is it to you, Snape?" snarled defensibly Sirius, urgently trying to take his anger out.

"Sirius! He has a point. We can't just stand there and demand him to give an explanation." reasoned Remus.

"What do you suggest, Severus?" asked McGonagall. The students and Sirius looked at her like she was insane, but then turned expectantly at Snape.

"First, let's discuss Mr. Potter's behavior during the reading, so we'll have an idea of what issues to address _tonight_."

They, all, exchanged looks with the near ones.

"He flinches at the word 'boy'." spoke Remus after an uncomfortable silence, which was used to calm themselves and settle their thoughts.

"Obviously he doesn't consider _them _as family, not that I blame him." said Tonks.

"He's too thin and small for someone his age. The cupboard probably stunned his growth. But about he being too thin..." Madam Pomfrey trailed off.

"You don't think they starved him, do you?" asked worriedly Mrs. Weasley, eyes widen in horror.

"We're talking about people who stuffed their nephew in a cupboard for who-knows-how-long, Molly!" said Mad-eye. Clearly it wasn't the best thing to say, for the way the women, now, teary and angrily glared at no one, in particular (probably imaging the Dursleys bursting in fire.), and, Sirius and Remus's guilty faces.

"Hopefully that's all they did." said Snape, still under his emotionless mask, though it threatened to fall off, soon.

Snape's words got them terrified at the thought. Surely they weren't so bad to...hurt him, right?

"Granger. Where do you say Potter may be?" said Moody, a little gentler.

"The Room of Requirement."

The D.A. members explained the story of the defense group until getting to the room's functioning.

"Alright, let's move!" bellowed Moody, making everyone run to the seventh floor. They got there about ten minutes later.

"Everyone! Think we _need_ to find Harry." said Hermione.

After a minute or so of requesting Harry, a door appeared in the nearest wall. Sirius hurried to the door, over protectiveness taking over.

Whatever they expected to find at the other side of the door, it, certainly wasn't this. As soon as Sirius pulled the door opened, everybody's gaze was at the inside of the room. There was no distressed Harry nor a stoic one, in fact, there was no Harry, at all. Instead, there was a large, obscure staircase.

The group followed the stairs until they got to the top of them. There was another door in front of them. Moody, being used to lead auror's missions, got there first and was the one opening the second door. As soon as they could see the other side, they had to cover their eyes at the sun light, after being in such darkness.

They were in the owlery.

Kingsley put a silencing spell over them. Then they took slow footsteps, as to make sure Harry was there. Then they heard whispers, near one of the 'windows'.

"I know, Hedwig. I probably shouldn't have run off like that...I-It's just...I'm scared, Hedwig." The group drew nearer, being as unnoticeable as possible.

"What if they agree with the Dursleys?...I don't think I could take it if they did." Everybody's heart sunk at that. Probably he was never told to be loved or needed. They were going to change that. As they got closer, they saw Harry sat down with his knees near his chest. On his knees there was Hedwig, looking at him as if understanding the talk. They saw Harry's face, wearing a sad smile, directed more to himself than Hedwig.

"Though I wouldn't blame them if they did. I've costed them, all, a lot." The group gasped at that. Was it really what he thought?

"I mean, if it wasn't for me, Sirius would be free, the whole school wouldn't be in danger every year...my parents would be alive."while talking, Harry never stopped stroking Hedwig.

This was, all, too much for Sirius. He gestured the others to wait at the stairs, and walked over his godson. Sirius cleared his throat to not startle Harry, whom just looked up a little surprised.

"Harry, are you all right?"

Harry nodded and started looking down, ashamed. Hedwig began moving violently her wings, catching Harry's attention, to then point at Sirius, as of saying to listen to him. Harry did just that.

Seeing his godson's fear and embarrassment, Sirius sat down next to him.

"Prongslet, why did you come up here?" _  
_

He only got a shrugging as answer.

"I'm sorry."

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for." Sirius, then, hugged his godson, as though it was the last time. With the most serious and firm voice he managed, said. "You're not going back to that..._place_".

Harry looked up, searching for truthfulness in the man's eyes, but then sighed and turn his gaze down. "Dumbledore will make me."

Sirius put his hands under Harry's chin to make meet his eyes. "Harry, listen. Dumbledore may have be the one who left you there, but he has no legal right over you. I do, and I will not allow you to go back to that...place." Sirius studied Harry's features and decided to add "Besides, by the third book I'll be a free man!"

That surely made Harry smile and hug his Godfather back. "Sirius, that's great!"

Sirius began rubbing Harry's arm while side-hugging him. "Now, care to tell me what all this cupboard thing is all about?" He said with a soft voice.

Harry immediately tensed up and shook his head.

"Please, Harry. I cannot help you if you don't tell me." pleaded Sirius.

"Drop it, Sirius. It doesn't matter, I don't sleep there, anymore."

"Yes, it does...We don't have to talk about it right now, but we will, alright?" Harry hesitantly nodded. _Dreadful reading! _Harry thought.

"Ready to go back?" Sirius knew this conversation was far from over, but they both needed to settle their thoughts, so hopefully tonight they'd talk properly.

Harry wanted to get the reading over with, but didn't think he could stand the pity and mocking looks he was sure to receive. Snape and Malfoy would get more than enough with these books to make fun of him.

Harry slowly got up (Hedwig on his shoulder), closely followed by his Godfather.

"You know? There lot of people worried about you waiting outside the owlery." said Sirius before wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulders, carefully not to bother the owl.

They made their way to the stairs, where they were met with concerned faces. They seemed to start moving their mouths to speak, but a look from Sirius told them not to. Instead, they gave a polite nod and walked to the Great Hall.

When the group of people entered the room, Harry was received with shocked and pity looks, he expected, but anyone seemed to want to make fun of him. That was new.

Regardless Madam Pomfrey's impulse to take Harry to the Hospital Wing, and Molly's instincts to cuddle and feed him, the group sat down, this time everyone of them -Except teachers- near Harry, specially Sirius, Remus, Ron, Hermione, the twins and Ginny.

Dumbledore cleared his throat "Shall we resume the lecture?" he asked to Madam Pomfrey, who was making a mental note of what to check on Harry.

She nodded and started reading.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen.** **The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents.** **It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he ****wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.**

"Why does he want a racing bike, Harry?" asked Ron, knowing about some muggle things because if his dad and "The adventures of Martin Miggs. The mad muggle" comics.

Harry shrugged.

**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry,**

"Oh! So you haven't discover it...yet" said Ron trying to ease his friend's mood.

"What do you mean 'yet'?" asked Harry with a small smile, at which Sirius gave a grateful look at Ron.

"Nothing, just you always seem to find out everything."

"That's not true-" Harry was interrupted by almost all the current students.

"Yes, it is!"

Harry tried to pout, but his lips kept twitching.

**as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise — unless of course it involved** **punching somebody.**

"Tell me it isn't you" said Hermione.

"Er-..."

** Dudley's favorite punching bag was** **Harry,**

Sirius and Remus growled furiously at the book. The others limited to glare murderously.

** but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he** **was very fast.**

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard,** **but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. **

Madam Pomfrey suddenly stopped reading to study Harry's frame. Yes, definitely a trip to the Hospital Wing.

**He looked** **even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to** **wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four** **times bigger than he was.**

"Four?! He's at least-"

"-seven times bigger than you!" Fred and George tried to get a smile from Harry, he was going to need it. Then it hit Fred.

"Hey, Harrykins! Actually, I think your cousin's tongue was bigger than you last year!" said Fred with a grin on his face.

Ron, Fred and George burst in laughter; Arthur's lips turned into a mischievous smile; Harry snorted and shook his head, leaving, afterwards, a small smile.

** Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees,** **black hair, and bright green eyes.**

"You know, Mr. Potter? You look just like your father, but with your-" Professor McGonagall never finished her sentence.

"Mother's eyes. Yeah, I get that a lot." finished Harry for her. It started to get annoying, but Harry smiled at himself nonetheless.

** He wore round glasses held together** **with a lot of Scotch tape**

"Harry, how long have you have those glasses?" asked suddenly Hermione.

"Er-...I don't know, since I was six, I guess."

"Are you saying you've worn the very same glasses for nine years?!"

"Er-...yes?"

"Harry!-"

"Come on, Hermione. Be glad they gave me glasses, at all." Said Harry, tiredly. This made Hermione looked down, saddened at the unfairness of her friend's life.

The Order's minds were making a mental note to buy him new glasses that had the proper graduation.

** because of all the times Dudley had** **punched him on the nose. **

Remus and Sirius growled, but Harry gave them a pleading look. They stopped slowly, but Sirius leaned close to Harry's ear.

"We'll talk about this." Harry hung his head in defeat and came back to listen at Madam Pomfrey.

**The only thing Harry liked about his** **own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was** **shaped like a bolt of lightning.**

The D.A. raised eyebrows at him.

"I didn't know how I got it." defended Harry quietly.

** He had had it as long as he could remember,** **and the first question he could ever remember asking his** **Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

**"In the car crash when your parents died," she had said. **

There was a storm of outraged gasps and screams, falling in the Hall like lightnings: "How dare she-?!" "Those-!" "If I get my hands on them!"

**"And** **don't ask questions."**

**_Don't ask questions_ — that was the first rule for a quiet life with** **the Dursleys.**

"Mr. Potter, you know you can ask questions in here, right?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Er-...I guess?"

That explained a lot among the, now, frowning teachers. This was going to be another issue to be dealt with.

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the** **bacon.**

**"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

"Good luck with that!" said cheerfully Sirius, remembering his friend through his godson's hair.

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his** **newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut.**

"Shouted? Why would he shout it?" asked Susan Bones.

Harry shrugged.

** Harry must** **have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put ****together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that** **way — all over the place.**

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen** **with his mother.**

"So you were actually cooking, not just looking the bacon." It wasn't a question, it was an statement from an dangerously narrow-eyed Molly.

Harry gulped.

** Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a** **large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick** **blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia** **often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel **

Many snorted at that. Fred and George were about to comment, but Madam Pomfrey didn't let them, as she resumed reading.

**— Harry often said** **that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

Harry blushed as the room was filled with roars of laughs.

Sirius patted Harry on the back, while trying to control his own laughter. Hermione, McGonagall and Molly were more successful at controlling it.

"Didn't we said-"

"-you had it in you, Harrykins?-"

"-You're going to be a-"

"-great prankster!" Sirius smiled proudly at the twins's words. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling at the scene, but still not looking at Harry, which _he_ noticed.

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was** **difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was** **counting his presents. His face fell.**

**"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father.**

"Thirty-six?! And he's upset?!" asked Ron.

"Why do I have the feeling you didn't get nearly as many?" said Hermione looking at Harry.

Harry wished they could just drop it, just to get over with the reading, but he knew they wouldn't. Besides, he knew he probably deserved it. It wasn't for him, Cedric would still be alive and Voldemort wouldn't have come back.

"Probably because you're right?" answered Harry, already resigned.

**"That's two less than last year."**

There were raised eyebrows and disapproving shaking of heads.

**"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's** **here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy."**

**"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face.**

**Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began** **wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned** **the table over.**

"Wouldn't they have give you more food if that happened?" asked Charlie Weasley.

Everyone looked expectantly at Harry. They didn't want to believe he was starved, but they needed to know.

"Er-...maybe?"

"Right" began Sirius patiently "Now, how about the truth?" Harry shared plenty of James's facial expressions, which let him know he wasn't telling them something.

Harry burned with shame. Did his face show that much? "Most probably no?"

Sirius face kept gentle and calm as not to startle his godson, but his insides were into a mixture of terrible sadness and thirst of revenge.

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said** **quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out** **today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?"**

"Brat." said Katie.

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work.**

"Bet it was." said Dean to Seamus, who eagerly agreed.

** Finally** **he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty . . . thirty . . ."**

"Can't even count?!" said a horrified Professor Vector.

"How old is your cousin, Harry?" asked a third year Ravenclaw.

"He's a month older then me."

The Ravenclaws looked almost as horrified as Professor Vector.

**"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

**"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel.**

**"All right then."**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled.**

**"Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta** **boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.**

"Don't encourage it!" said Hermione.

"'Mione, they're not actually here, you know?" said Ron.

"And they're lucky not to be! Once I out my hands on them..." Ron gulped and silently thanked Hermione's anger wasn't directed at him.

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to** **answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap** **the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen** **new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a** **gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone** **looking both angry and worried.**

"Not a good sign, right?" questioned Neville, a little quietly.

"Don't worry. It's good for me...at first." said Harry, making his friends worry and lean froward.

**"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She** **can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a** **leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a** **friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants,** **or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a** **mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The** **whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at** **photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**

"And where did they take _you_ on your birthdays?" asked Ginny, slowly growing angrier and angrier at the Dursleys.

"Well, I never really went anywhere, Gin." Harry was surprised how easy it was to talk to her when she wasn't shy nor blushing at his every word. It was even easier than talking about Quidditch with Cho at the beginning of their Valentine's date.

Ginny was annoyed by Harry's reply, but couldn't hold back a little smile at the nickname...Gin. She could try and date guys like Michael Corner, but she knew she'd never stop her feelings for Harry.

**"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as** **though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that** **Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded** **himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbies,** **Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

Hermione sighed loudly. "I guess I understand a little."

**"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.**

**"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

Harry looked grim. Ron, however voiced his thoughts.

"Bet the feeling's mutual, right, mate?"

Harry didn't trust himself to speak without earning another detention from Umbridge, so he firmly nodded.

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he** **wasn't there — or rather, as though he was something very nasty** **that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

Ron saw his best mate's grimace at the sentence, so took his opportunity to make it a little better.

"Yuck! I don't know what's worst, slugs or spiders" said Ron, referring to the slug incident in second year.

Harry was looking down at the table but smiled at Ron's antics, suppressing a snort.

At that moment, Ron was glad he could be of help to Harry. After learning about Harry's home-life, Ron found it impossible to be jealous of him. In fact, Ron was experimenting a great protectiveness for his friend, as if he, suddenly, was able to rip the limps off of anyone who'd try to hurt him.

**"What about what's-her-name, your friend — Yvonne?"**

**"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.**

**"You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be** **able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe** **even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

"But that would of have made you happy." Said a tactless Slytherin, who was rewarded with glares.

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**

**"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.**

**"I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

"Too right, Harry-"

"-leave that to dad" said Fred and George, provoking Arthur to blush and to eye his wife nervously.

"What do they mean, Arthur?" asked Molly dangerously.

"It's nothing, dear." at his wife disbelieving look, he added. "But I'm sure the book will mention it"

**"I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia** **slowly, ". . . and leave him in the car. . . ."**

"What?!" cried indignantly the sensitive female population.

"Don't worry, they didn't." said Harry quietly.

**"That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone. . . ."**

Many growled and groaned at that.

"Of course, the car's much more important." said sarcastically Hermione.

**Dudley began to cry loudly. **

"Cry-baby" huffed Ron, along with most of male students.

Some students, especially purebloods, went pink in the face. That's what they do/did to get their way.

**In fact, he wasn't really crying — it** **had been years since he'd really cried — but he knew that if he** **screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything** **he wanted.**

Needless to say the before mentioned students vowed to themselves not to do it ever again. After all, they didn't want to end up like Dudley Dursley.

**"Dinky Duddydums,**

Laugh caught them all by surprise. The students roared theirs, the adults's lips curled upwards, even some ghosts, who followed Harry's serching party, allowed themselves an amused smile.

** don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil** **your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

**"I . . . don't . . . want . . . him . . . t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled** **between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He** **shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mothers arms.**

"Idiot. Just wait 'till I become of age." threatened Ron.

"Hey, Ron-"

"-Maybe you'll-"

"-help us with some-"

"-ideas for payback." Ron nodded eagerly, if he couldn't get revenge himself, he'd, at least, help with nasty ideas.

"Fred, George, no, you won't." said Remus, but the look in his eyes said otherwise.

"But they-" the twins started at the same time.

"You won't get payback because-" Began Remus, but impatient Sirius cut him off.

"Because when we're through, there'll be nothing to get payback from." The Order, teachers and Harry's friends firmly nodded at the unsaid words: 'They'll pay for harming Harry.'

Harry was about to protest, but Madam Pomfrey was faster and read.

**Just then, the doorbell rang — "Oh, good Lord, they're here!"** **said Aunt Petunia frantically — and a moment later, Dudley's best** **friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a** **scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held** **people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them.**

"And you'd know about that, wouldn't you?" sighed Ginny tiredly.

Harry didn't know how to answer, so he just gave her an apologetic look, which told her everything she needed to know.

Ginny sighed again.

** Dudley** **stopped pretending to cry at once.**

"Of course!" ranged exasperatedly in the Hall.

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting** **in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the ****way to the zoo for the first time in his life. **

That kind of comments put your like in perspective. The Hall couldn't imagine having such life. Anyone could figure out how Harry turned out so good after all this. He reached a new kind of respect in everyone in the room with a heart.

What broke many's heart was the fact of Harry smiling fondly at the mention of going to the zoo for the first time.

**His aunt and uncle** **hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before** **they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

Those who cared leaned forward daringly, as if it'd stop whatever threat Vernon would made.

**"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face** **right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy — any funny** **business, anything at all — and you'll be in that cupboard from** **now until Christmas."**

Gasps of horror were made, announcing the next uproar.

"How can he?!"

"Oh, that man!"

"I swear I'm this close to go and hex him!"

Then Sirius whispered to Harry. "That didn't happen very often, right?"

"Er-..."

**"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly . . ."**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.**

Some people who still hadn't decided whether they believed him or not, shifted guiltily in theirs seats.

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.**

"Maybe because you did make them happen." suggested Lee.

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry,**

"There's definitely something wrong with that family." said Hanna shaking her head.

** who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses.**

Sirius closed his eyes and lean rested his head back. His godson's life had been so much worst and lonely than anyone could ever imagine. How could he failed him that bad?

Well, first thing first: Make sure he never comes back there.

** Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. **

"Yay!" cried the twins, throwing their fits at the air, along with many other students cheering.

**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

The cheers were soon replaced with frowns and glares.

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls). The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry.**

"Go Harrikinis!" said Fred.

"Tell them who's boss!" said George.

** Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

There were relived sighs.

"You shouldn't expect being punished for something you can't control." frowned Hermione.

Harry opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Hermione.

"Don't you dare apologize."

Harry shut his mouth and put his gaze back down.

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. **

"How did you get there, Harry?" asked Remus.

"I still have no idea."

**Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual**

"Usual?! When I thought this kid couldn't get worse!" said Molly.

"It's alright, Mrs. Weasley." said Harry.

"No, it's not!" cried the Order, most teachers (including Snape!) and the D.A.

** when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney. **

"You appeared?!" many said.

"I don't know." said Harry shyly at those who were watching him with awe.

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) **

Again, there were growls of fury and indignation. Hedwig, who had been quiet for a time began hooting angrily.

**was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump.**

Everyone either shook their heads or raised their eyebrows.

"I was ten." said Harry, resting his arms and head on the table. Hedwig began nipping his ears.

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.**

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. **

"Why do I look like a pig?!"

"Why did I marry a hoarse?!"

mock-grunted Fred and George, bringing laughter through the Hall.

**He** **liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council,** **Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects.**

"I take it they don't like you very much." said a fourth year Hufflepuff.

**This morning, it was motorcycles.**

"And, exactly, what's wrong with motorcycles?" said Sirius offended.

"You'll find out in a moment." grinned Harry, finally the cupboard issue forgotten...for now.

**". . . roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.**

"Too true, Sirius" laughed Remus.

"I'm not a maniac hoodlum, thank you, very much." defended Sirius.

"At least not a hoodlum." said Harry, now laughing along with Remus.

Sirius had many arguments he was ready to use, but being make fun of was worth it if it'd make his godson laugh.

**"I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

"Harry!" groaned Hermione. "Why did you say that for?"

Harry shrugged "I don't know, Hermione. I was just excited and I kind of forgot." said Harry a little defensively.

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

**Dudley and Piers sniggered.**

"Idiots" somebody said.

**"I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."**

**But he wished he hadn't said anything.**

Hermione gave him a I-told-you-so look. Harry and Ron rolled their eyes.

** If there was one thing the ****Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon — they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

"Like you need any help." said McGonagall.

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance **

"Bet you didn't get anything." said Charlie.

"No, I actually get something." said Harry happily at the memory.

**and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. **

"That's what you get?! The pig and the rat get large ice creams and you get a cheap ice pop!" said Ron in angry tone.

"Hey, it wasn't bad. Be glad they bought me something at all." said Harry, a little fed up of all the pity coming his way. Ironically, the comment just brought more pity.

Ron looked down, ashamed of all the time he had complained about how little he got, and there was Harry, having practically nothing and not complaining at all.

**It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**

At this the ice cream subject was replaced by laughter and snorts...and a flushing Harry.

"I think you hurt the gorilla's feelings, Harry." laughed Tonks.

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time.**

"You mean cooking being ten, have your presence ignored, being shouted at and getting a tiny ice pop when your cousin and his friend get much more, is qualified one of your best mornings before Howgarts?!" Harry didn't know how Hermione could say so many things at once. She probably has a hidden third lung.

"Er-...yes?"

Hermione groaned again, but now had teary eyes.

"Hermione, please don't cry. It's not so bad." soothed Harry.

"Yes, it is, Harry. And the fact that you don't think it is just makes it worst...And don't you dare apologize." said Hermione, anger directed at the book.

Everyone kept silent, except for Ron rubbing circles in Hermione's back while talking to her ear.

" Don't worry, 'Mione, we won't let him come back. We're going to make it alright."

** He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him.**

"Smart lad." grunted Moody.

** They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top,**

"Who has a tantrum because of that?" said Angelina.

"Apparently Dudley." winked George at her.

** Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

"Allowed? He should of have his own in the first place!" said Molly. True, she and her husband couldn't give their children much, but they made sure they had enough food and cloth, even things of their own. These...people should't be allowed near children.

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

"Of course!" groaned everyone.

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can**

"Yes! Do it, Harry!" said the twins.

** — but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

"Aww." complained many students.

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

**"Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.**

**"Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

**"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**

"It is not to amuse you!" The twins mimicked their mom, making Molly flush and many (who remembered the scolding at the last chapter) to laugh.

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself — no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. ****It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

"But the snake is well taken care of." a third year Ravenclaw pointed out.

Harry looked down and shrugged. Sirius gave him a reassuring one-armed hug.

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.**

**_It winked._**

_"_But snakes don't have eyelids, do they?" asked Justin.

"Of course they do-"

"-Look at all the snakes over there." said Fred and George gesturing at the Slytherin table.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

Hermione sighed in amusement and Ron shook his head.

Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, Moody, Umbridge, the Minister and everyone two years younger then Harry looked confused, as they didn't know about him being a parseltongue.

Oh, no! They didn't know about him being a parseltongue! What would they do once they knew? Thought Harry worriedly as he stiffed.

**The snake jerked its head toward Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly:**

**_"I get that all the time."_**

**"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."**

**The snake nodded vigorously.**

The ones who didn't know were wondering if that snake was an animagus.

**"Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.**

_So polite!_ Thought fondly Molly.

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

**"Was it nice there?"**

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see — so you've never been to Brazil?"**

If the snake was bred in the zoo, then it was less possible for it to be an animagus. What could it be, then?

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"**

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

The ones who had seen Dudley burst laughing at the mental image.

**"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs.**

"OI!"

"Leave him alone you pig!"

"Wait 'till you're on the receiving end of my wand!"

**Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened — one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

"What did you-"

"-do, Harrikins?"

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. **

Cheers exploited in the Hall mixed up with some gasps of awe.

"That's incredible accidental magic, Mr. Potter." said Professor Flitwick.

Harry ducked his head and murmured a 'thanks'.

The staff looked at each other. Why his accidental magic was impressive but his classwork was so...average? Hopefully it didn't have anything to do with the muggles he called relatives.

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come. . . . Thanksss, amigo." **

Those who didn't know about Harry being parseltongue turned slowly to Harry.

"You're a Parseltongue!" finally said Tonks, happy she had figure it out.

Harry nodded hesitantly.

Suddenly Sirius patted him on the back and said. "This is great. Imagine all the pranks involving snakes!"

Saying Harry was relieved was an understatement.

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.**

**"But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"**

"Into the nothingness." said Luna

"Very goo, Miss Lovegood. Five points to Ravenclaw." said Professor McGonagall. Perhaps Luna would be really good at Transfiguration.

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death.**

"If just." sighed the twins.

Molly was about to scold again, but with a glaze at Harry she thought better of it. One could say she even agreed, not that she'd ever admit it.

** But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**

"Why is everyone against you?" asked innocently a first year Hufflepuff.

Nobody could answer that, but it made them think. Sadness crept onto them all. What would Lily and James say if they knew how their son's life turned out?

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. **

"Start? What do they mean 'Start'?" asked murderously Remus.

"It's an expression." said Harry, but Severus knew better. Harry definitely was hiding something.

**He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go — cupboard — stay — no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

"That...wicked...walrus...how dare he?..." McGonagall choked in anger.

Hermione kept quiet, though her face suggested she was searching for a bad enough word for Vernon. Ron, his siblings and dad went red in the face, trying, and failing, to hold their fury.

Molly and Madam Pomfrey were ranting about starving and drinking in front of a child.

Tonk's hair went black as, very probably, her thoughts about those muggles. Sirius, Remus ans Moody were growling, trying to control their tempers.

The rest of the professors (except Umbridge) and the D.A. were making mental notes of spells to curse the Dursleys with. Yes, that's right, Snape included.

Kingsley and Madam Bones were thinking of all the things the were going to need to make a case against_ them_. Kingsley was knelt to give custody to either Sirius or Remus.

Hagrid had slammed his immense hands against the table , but the noise was nothing compared to what seemed to be the tenth uproar of the day.

Harry was in, yet another attempt to make himself as small as possible.

Dumbledore just kept stoically, as though anything had happen. This made Harry wonder if the connection he shared with Voldemort made Dumbledore feel disgust towards him. Harry looked down, feeling terribly miserable.

Once they all quiet down and Sirius had his arms protectively around Harry, Madam Pomfrey resumed the lecture.

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**

"At least you didn't go without eating." said Tonks.

"But how much could you get without them noticing." said Hermione.

Harry decided not to answer and look away.

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember,**

People smiled sympathetically at him. Anyone could imagine how terrible it could actually be. Well, at least he must of have some friends to lean on at his muggle school.

** ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. **

"That's because there was no car crash." said someone, but everyone was too sad and worn out to pay attention who said it.

**Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. **

Eyes were wide in terror and horrified gasps were given.

"That's all you can remember, right?" said Kingsley.

"No, actually, because of the dementors I can remember more now."

There was a sadden silence. Anyone dared to say anything, after all, what could they say?

**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**

"You didn't know how they looked like?!" asked a teary Molly.

"I didn't even know their names until Hagrid mentioned them." When Harry realized it wasn't the best to say, he added "But now I even have an album filled with their pictures."

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened;**

Most adults vowed their head. They should of have, at least, go to check on him.

** the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. **

"Dedalus" sighed McGonagall.

**After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

"CONSTANTE VIGILANCE! They could have as well shout it!" grumbled Moody.

**At school, Harry had no one. **

And there went everyone's hope of Harry having someone to help him go through those years.

**Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"Cowards! They'll never know what the missed." said Ron aloud to everyone to hear.

Harry snorted, head down.

"That was a very...interesting chapter." Disbelieving snorts sounded at Dumbledore's words. "Its' six o'clock already. I think is best if we all eat and then go to sleep. It's been a long day, after all." with that food appeared at the tables.

After such a day, Harry didn't feel hungry at all, but Molly walked to him, took a plate and filled it with food to give it to Harry. Harry was about to protest, but stern looks all around made him change his mind. When Molly left to sit next to her husband, to Harry's dismay, Sirius reached him some pumpkin juice and a little more of turkey.

At quarter to seven, many had left the Hall and Harry got up and made his way to the doorway.

"Harry, where are you going? We still have things to discuss" called Hermione.

"Sorry, but I've got detention with Umbridge, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Then I'll convince the others to leave it for tomorrow...Good luck"

With that, Harry walked direct to his doom.

* * *

**A.N.: Wow! Taking off the title and author note, they're 10,001 words!**

**I'm sorry the update took so long, but this was a very long chapter.**

**Hope you enjoy and let me know how you liked it.**

**See you next time!**

**Nightshadow28**


	4. Book1: C3- The Letters From No One

**A.N.: 12,242 words!**

* * *

**Book1:C4- The letter from no one.**

Harry walked out of the Hall and was on his way to Umbridge's office. He was met with even more pity looks, murmurs and fingers pointed at him. Harry did his best to ignore them, he always had, but somehow this was different. This time all the whispers were more...personal.

Losing no time to look at the gossipers, Harry knocked Umbridge's office door.

"Enter." said a sugary voice from inside. Without looking, Harry knew Umbridge was smirking.

Harry entered and took his usual seat, where a parchment and a too sharp quill awaited for him.

"You know what to do." said Umbridge hiding, yet, another smirk behind her tea cup. Harry dearly wished she'd chock. Serves her right for reading those books before everyone.

Harry hesitated a second before picking up the dreaded quill and begin writing. And so he set to work.

_I must not tell lies._ The back of his right hand began to sting.

_I must not tell lies. _Harry felt the scars threatening to open.

_I must not tell lies. _The pain grew sharper and sharper.

_I must not tell lies. _Harry wanted to drop the quill and rub away the sting, but he could feel Umbridge monitoring his every move.

_I must not tell lies. _The scars finally opened. Blood fell down his wrist.

_I must not tell lies. _The smarting was so bad; Harry knew it wouldn't be long before he'd be bending over it. Now that he gave it a thought, he didn't know how long he had been there. Judging by the amount of lines, it had probably been hours.

_I must not- _There was knock on the door. Harry glanced at the door and then at Umbridge, who dropped the smirk and, now, was frowning.

There was another knock. Umbridge threw Harry a dirty look.

"Enter."

Harry didn't know why, but he didn't move; he didn't let go of the quill nor try to cover any 'evidence'.

The door opened reveling Remus and Sirius. They looked worried.

"Dolores, it's been after curfew for a time now, and Harry hadn't come back, so we got worried-" said politely Remus, but stopped when he looked directly at Harry's right bloody hand holding a long quill, his features turned angry and wild. Sirius was along the same lines.

"Harry, drop that quill and come with us." Said Remus in a dangerous tone, without taking his eyes off of Umbridge.

Harry left the quill gladly, got up and walked to the door. When he was close enough, Sirius took his right wrist and cleaned some of the blood to have a proper look. He wasn't happy. Remus seemed to want to break Umbridge's neck, but with a last glare, closed the door, took Harry's left wrist and they all walked to the staff room.

"I can walk by myself." Complained Harry.

Sirius and Remus stopped walking and turned their head to look at him. Harry fell quiet and they resumed their path.

The three of them entered the staff room, where the Order, teachers, the Weasleys and Hermione awaited. Their expressions turned grim when they saw the blood all over Harry's hand, who was still trying to break free from the marauder's grip.

"W-what happened?" asked Molly.

"Umbridge" growled Sirius and Remus at the same time.

"What did she do, Remus?" asked Kingsley, knowing Remus was better at keeping his temper than Sirius.

"Why don't we let Harry explain what happened?" said Remus. He was barely controlling his anger, but seemed like a lot of work; Harry decided not to push him too much.

Sirius and Remus let him go, but closed the door behind them and led him to an armchair. Everybody turned expectantly at him.

"Er-… You'll see…er-…I…"

"Harry you've got to tell someone already!" said Hermione. Harry gave her a betrayed look and then looked for support in Ron.

"She's right mate."

"What are you talking about?" Asked Charlie.

The three looked at each other.

"If you don't tell, Harry, we will." Said Hermione and then faced the adults. "Umbridge uses blood quills in her detentions."

There were horror gasps. Dumbledore took hold of Harry's hand, closed his eyes as to hide guilt, and then questioned Ron and Hermione without his usual twinkle.

"How long has this been going on?"

"Since the second day of classes." Answered Hermione.

"When did you two find out?"

"The first weekend of school." Said Ron.

"And, pray tell, why didn't you tell anyone?" sneered Snape.

"Because I made them promise they wouldn't." said defiantly Harry.

"And why, Mr. Potter, didn't _you _tell anyone?" asked McGonagall.

"This is between Umbridge and me. I'm not going to give her the satisfaction to know she's got to me."

The room got silent. The adults were exasperated and searching for a way to word their thoughts.

"Harry, you don't have to deal with everything by yourself." Said Sirius.

"Apparently I always have to." Muttered Harry but, in the silent room, it was heard.

The room was filled with guilt and regret. Sirius looked at the ceiling, before closing his eyes, trying to figure out what to say next. He knelt to be at Harry's eye level.

"It may have been the case before, but now you've got all of the people in this room, who care and worry for you. We want to know if there's something wrong."

Harry desperately wanted to believe him, but experience has taught him to distrust this kind of statements, so he looked down and sighed.

"What about a trade?" proposed Bill. If working with goblins taught him something, it was to make deals.

The whole room looked at him.

"What kind of trade?" asked Harry.

"You give us information we want to know, we give you some information you want to know." Many adults, especially Molly, didn't seem to agree, but they noticed the 'some' and decided Bill knew what he was doing.

Harry gave it a thought, formulating the questions that'd tell him what he wanted to know, and then said "Alright."

"Fine, now, what about 'we' begin?" Nobody objected at Dumbledore. "Why don't you tell us everything about these detentions with Professor Umbridge?"

Harry took a few seconds to calm himself. He couldn't help but notice Dumbledore was yet to look at him in the eyes. Besides, it wasn't fair 'they' were the first to get answers.

"Fine. She's been giving me detention since the first day because I refuse to say Voldemort (There were some flinches) hasn't come back."

"And because you lose your temper in her classes." Said Hermione.

"Because she's been disgracing Cedric's memory by saying his death was an accident."

"What else can you tell us about these detentions? Perhaps, how long they last?" asked Dumbledore.

"Normally from five o'clock to past midnight." Most of the room gasped at him.

"You mean to tell me that…_woman_ has been torturing you more than seven hours, daily?!" cried Sirius.

"Not exactly. More like from Mondays to Fridays…sometimes Saturdays."

There were indignant cries. Madam Pomfrey began cleaning Harry's wound and proceeded to bandage it.

"Mr. Potter! Are you aware this scares may leave marks forever?!" She said angrily.

"…yeas?"

"And you still kept this a secret?!"

"I'm not giving up to her."

"What did she make you write?" asked Snape, avoiding a further rant from the medi-witch.

"I must not tell lies. I think is my turn, isn't it?"

"Indeed it is." Said Dumbledore. Harry noticed he didn't say 'my boy' nor something of the sort.

"What are you guarding in the Ministry?"

"Well, we can't tell you that-" started to say Bill but was cut off by Moddy.

"How did you know we were at the Ministry?" For a moment the Order tensed; they thought Bill might actually tell Harry that.

All stares were directed at Harry _again_.

"Er-…I was…er-…It's _my_ turn to get answers!"

"As I was going to say, we cannot tell you that." Said Bill.

"But you agreed-" began Harry.

"We agreed you'd tell us _all_ we wanted to know, and we'd tell you _some _of the thingsyou wanted to know."

"You tricked me!" said Harry feeling betrayed. He had like Bill when he first met him, and now, he had just tricked him. Then he said in lower voice "I should of have known."

"Hey, you already agreed to it. Is there something else you wanted to know?" said Bill, trying to ignore his own guilt.

"What do you know about what Voldemort's doing?" sighed Harry, feeling defeated.

"We suspect he's been regaining his old army and may have spies inside the Ministry." Said Remus.

"So far he haven't made any attack, which means he doesn't want people to know he's back." Said Moody. If they had made a deal, he might as well contribute.

"That's all we know, besides that he wants something that's in the Ministry." Said Tonks.

"Alright. What else do you want to know?" said Harry, not looking at them in the eyes. He still felt betrayed - and by the only people he trusted, no less!- so he was going to let them know it.

"How did you know what we're guarding is in the Ministry?" Mad-eye hurried to say. Part of being a paranoid Auror meant he needed to know all his information leaks.

"Voldemort's been sending me some dreams about a black door. I saw that door in the Ministry when I went to the hearing." Said Harry a little hesitantly.

"And you decided to keep that to yourself, too?" said Kingsley tiredly.

"er- yes?"

Everybody let out frustrated groans.

"I think is my turn again. Why does Voldemort want whatever you're guarding?"

The order looked at each other and then at Dumbledore, who answered.

"Because if he gets hold of that…information, he'll be ahead of us at war and, may even know the outcome of the same."

"Now, I'd like to know what, exactly, is been going on at the Dursleys." Said Sirius. They all wanted to know that, but no more than the marauders, Ron and Hermione.

"They don't like me and I don't like them. That's it."

"No, that's not it! We need to know _exactly_ what happens in that house." Pleaded Sirius.

"What for? You could just wait for the books to tell you." Reasoned Harry.

"We suspect there might be issues not dealt within the books." Said Snape. Harry thought he was now just getting his hooked nose where it doesn't belong.

"Like what?"

"I have an idea. We'll make questions about it, so it'll be easier to answer what we want to know. Alright?" proposed Remus.

"Alright." Answered Harry reluctantly.

"Do you get to eat regularly at your relatives?" began Remus, so the others knew what he meant to do.

"Yes."

Everyone raised an eyebrow.

"Sometimes."

"Can you be more specific?" asked patiently Remus.

"Er-… I didn't whenever I did something bad."

"Like what?" asked Tonks.

"Er-…accidental magic or…didn't finish my chores…er-…if I'd get a repot from school."

"What kind of chores did you have?" asked McGonagall.

"Wash the dishes, sweep, mow the lawn, do the laundry…basically everything."

"You weren't kidding when you said you had a lot of practice cleaning at the Dursleys, eh?" said Ron, more to himself rather than Harry.

Well, I had to earn my keep." Said Harry as a matter-of-fact.

There was a collective "What?!"

"Harry, you shouldn't have to earn your keep!" Said Remus.

"It's alright. They didn't want me in the first place. At least they took me in."

That's when Molly burst into tears and Arthur tried to comfort her.

"How can someone be so mean to a child?" She sobbed into her husband's arms.

"Harry, what they did was-" said Remus.

"No, Remus. Just drop it. It doesn't matter anymore. They now, pretty much, ignore me. Besides, I just have to be there a summer holiday and a half and that's it." Said Harry, trying to finish the arguments.

"It matters, Harry. I don't care if you just have to go a day or an hour, I _won't_ let you be back there." Said Sirius.

"Sirius, he has to go back-" started Dumbledore.

"You can't be serious, Albus! You know how they treat him, surely you're not considering to send him back!" Kingsley voiced everyone's thoughts.

"The blood wards will keep him safe-"

"If those intents of human beings don't kill him first!" yelled Sirius. He wasn't going to put up with this man trying to endanger his godson.

"I ask you to be reasonable, Sirius. It's past one in the morning, I think it's better if we all go and get some rest, after all, the children have classes tomorrow." Said Dumbledore excusing himself.

The kids, especially Harry, made their way to the door, finding themselves really tired. Sirius held Harry's forearm lightly.

"This conversation is far from over." Harry let out a sigh and hung his head. "Goodnight, kiddo."

"G'night, Sirius."

And the children went to the Gryffindor Common Room. When they got there, Fred and George were on and on about the unfairness of not cancelling classes.

"It's not fair!"

"We're not going to have any free time!"

Hermione tried –in vain– to convince them it was a good thing.

"You shouldn't be complaining. It's our O.W.L. and your N.E.W.T. year, you should be thankful you have the chance to have time to prepare despite the reading."

Ginny kept quiet, digesting all the new information and reprising her urges to hug and comfort Harry.

Ron was patting Harry on the back.

"It'll turn out alright, mate. Just think about the good things these books will bring!"

"Like what?"

"Sirius's freedom, the Ministry will have to accept You-Know-Who is back and everyone will know what kind of prat is Malfoy."

Harry sent him a small smile before they all left silently to bed.

The Staff Room wasn't enjoying as much peace and quiet as the Common Room The teachers and the Order were having a frustrated talk about certain stubborn Headmaster.

"I can't believe him! How can he even think of sending a child to monsters like those?!" said Molly

"How did we miss it when we were watching him on the summer?" lamented Tonks.

"You're talking about Harry, right?" asked Remus. She nodded. "Don't worry. The important thing is we know now, and we are going to make things right. Right, Sirius?"

"You've got that right! I'm going to have him free of those monsters if it's the last thing I do!"

"Now, what do you have in mind?" asked Kingsley.

"By the third book my innocence will be proved. Can you get me custody?"

"Of course, I'll work on it first thing in the morning. It may take a month if much, starting tomorrow. Just in time for the beginning of summer holidays. But if we want to make a case against the Dursleys, we're going to need to have all the charges listed. A check-up at the Hospital Wing for Harry would be useful, too."

"How could I have forgotten?!" said Madam Pomfrey. "Can somebody fetch him to me right after breakfast?"

"I will." Said Sirius.

"Right. Now we just have to finish our talk with Harry, and take him to the Hospital Wing, right?" asked Tonks. Everyone nodded.

"Fine, now that that's taken care of, let's go to get some sleep as well." Said McGonagall.

"Where are we going to sleep?" asked Molly gesturing to all the guests.

"We can transfigure the armchairs in this room to beds, if that's alright with everyone."

And off they went.

A few hours later, Harry was having the most disturbing morning he had in a long time. He woke up at half past six, to the sound of his roommates whispers.

"I can't believe it! Who would 'a have thought?" said Seamus.

"Poor Harry, had to put up with a lot." Said Dean.

"Wouldn't have thought it. With how he is, it's still hard to believe." Said Neville.

"Hey, leave him alone. He doesn't need any more people murmuring about it. What you lot should do is try and help, not pitying him. You know how much he hates pity." Defended Ron. Harry was so grateful at him. And just then, cheerless thoughts crept onto him. He'd have another talk with the Order and the teachers. Dumbledore just confirmed his fears: He knew how things were like at the Dursleys and wanted to send him back. He wasn't looking forward to the stares and whispers once he'd be out, nor at people making fun of him for it, much less the questioning about his home life that'd be sure to happen at the halls.

Taking those thoughts away for now, Harry got up to see the staring faces of his roommates at the other side of the room.

"Morning, Harry." Greeted Ron.

"Morning, Ron."

The others started their usual routine, getting ready for the classes. Ron walked to Harry's bed wearing his school trousers and pajama top, meaning it wasn't late.

"Thanks, mate." Said Harry.

"You're welcome." Said Ron, turning a little pink. He thought, or maybe hoped, Harry hadn't heard.

Then Harry caught a bit of Seamus and Dean's chat.

"Did you finish McGonagall's essay?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, I barely finished it when we were called to the reading."

"Oh, no! McGonagall's essay! I didn't finish it!" said Harry, eyes widen. "On what period do we have Transfiguration?"

"The first one." Answered Ron.

"Great! I guess I'll have to do it at breakfast." He then hurried to get dressed, took his bag and ran to the Great Hall.

He sat down next to Sirius, who apparently was finishing his breakfast.

"Morning, kiddo."

"Morning, Sirius." He answered hurriedly, moving some plates to make space to his book and parchment, and began to work.

"Forgot some homework, eh?" asked Sirius.

"Yup." Harry didn't take his eyes off the parchment.

"Eat something first." Offered Sirius.

"I don't have time. This essay is due right after breakfast."

"Actually…"

Harry finally looked up at his Godfather, dreading what he might hear.

"I'm taking you to the Hospital Wing for a check-up." Sirius couldn't help but be amused by his godson's widen eyes and stunned expression.

"Thanks, Sirius, but no. This class is important and…er-…"

"Whose class is it?"

"McGonagall."

"Don't worry. She was there when we agreed to this."

Harry groaned and put his stuff back into his backpack. Why did they just decide things like that? It's just like being secretly spied all summer. This was going to be a long day. It didn't help having Sirius filling up a plate with food for him.

The bell rang a time later, announcing the first period. Harry tried to mix with the crowd, but his Godfather's arm reached for him. When, at long last, the Great Hall was empty, Sirius began dragging Harry at the Hospital Wing.

"Come on, Sirius! Let me go, I really don't want to go there." Pleaded Harry.

"Prongslet, we need to know if you're alright" reasoned Sirius.

"I'm alright"

"How do you call being locked in a cupboard and starved?"

"But I'm not there anymore."

"Still I'd like to know if there's something else wrong."

"I could just tell you, so we don't actually need to go to the infirmary."

"Just like you told me about the Dursleys or Umbridge?" Sirius knew Harry was thinking hard on another excuse not to go see Madam Pomfrey, so he took advantage of the silence. "No, Harry, I'm not taking any chances when is about your health. Can't you understand we all care for you?"

"Alright." Sighed Harry defeated.

Moments later they reached the Infirmery, where Madam Pomfrey and the Order (the ones who weren't teachers) were waiting.

"What did you do to bring him here peacefully?" said Madam Pomfrey in awe, provoking a few chuckles from the Order and a light glare from Harry. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

After an uncomfortable and humiliating half an hour, the testes were done.

"When will the results be ready?" asked Kingsley holding a parchment and quill.

"They should be ready this afternoon." Answered Madam Pomfrey.

"Can I go now?" asked Harry, dreading the answer.

"Why, don't you want to spend time with your handsome Godfather?"

"You keep talking about this good-looking Godfather, but nobody tells me who he is." Retorted Harry, much to the amusement for the Order.

"Seriously, kiddo. We need to finish last night conversation."

_"How do you plan to trick me this time?" _Thought bitterly Harry, but a glance at Sirius stopped him from voicing it. "Fine." He said lowering his head.

They all sat on some beds. Harry was sat between Sirius and Remus, which he still hadn't decided whether, it was a good or bad thing. Harry immediately frowned when Mad-eye closed the doors.

"Don't you trust me?" Harry asked as innocently as he could manage.

"Keeping important information to yourself doesn't exactly show you're trustworthy." Grunted Mad-eye. Harry's frown deepened.

"Now, now, we're not here to fight." Said Arthur.

"Something you want to tell us?" asked kindly Remus at Harry.

"Not really."

"Harry, the results will tell us later, but we'd like to hear it from you."

"Why?"

"Because we want you to trust us." This time was Sirius who spoke.

Harry gave it a thought. Did he actually trust them? Would they use all this against him, later? "What else do you want to know?" he sighed.

Most of them beamed at knowing he'd, at least, tried to trust them.

"There's something important we _need_ to know, alright?" said Kingsley as Harry nodded. "Do they…harm you in any way?"

There was an anxious silence, until Harry finished gathering his courage.

"Not much." He said, not taking his gaze off the floor.

"Can you elaborate a bit more?" said Kingsley, hiding his anger and disgust at the Dursleys.

"No big deal, just a few shoves here and there, some dragging and swinging frying pans, but those are rare." Said Harry quietly, thinking that if he says it low enough, they wouldn't see at as a big deal. Turns out it only made them angrier at the situation.

Everyone in the room had to take a several deep breaths as to calm themselves.

"Are you certain that is all?" asked Kingsley.

"Yeah. They mostly threat and yell."

"We've noticed the way you react to the word 'boy'. Can you explain that? " asked Remus. Harry didn't need to wonder why Remus was the one asking rather than Sirius. He knew Remus was better at whatever required patience and understanding.

"…Er-…"

"Harry."

"T-That's how they call me." Harry risked a look at everyone's faces. Saying they weren't happy was an understatement.

"When would they call you that?" asked Kingsley, obviously the others didn't trust themselves to talk without swearing.

"All the time...They... They never use my name."

The bell rang and rescued him from another awkward moment. Harry got up in a better mood than a second before.

"Well, I better go. I have potions." He made his way to the door, forgetting they were closed. When he was a feet away from it, it shot opened, but Harry was so eager to get out, he didn't noticed. The Order, however, did and remained sat with their jaws hanging.

The rest of his classes were relatively normal, considering the constant staring from classmates and the sad looks from most of the teachers. Thank goodness he didn't have DADA that day!

At lunch the students were told they'd be given two hours to do homework after the last period (2 p.m.), before resume the reading, which would last until half past seven. It was going to be a tight schedule, but if they'd finish the books faster, it was alright with Harry.

The last period was over too soon for Harry's liking, and no much longer, the Hall was ready to resume the dreadful reading.

"Good afternoon, everyone! I think you all know why we are here, so, is there anyone who'd like to read the next chapter?" said Dumbledore.

McGonagall raised her hand and Dumbledore levitated the book to her. "Very well, let us begin."

"**Chapter three. 'The letters from no one.'**" McGonagall began to read. " **The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started**

"When is your cousin's birthday?" asked Angelina.

When Harry didn't answer, Hermione spoke. "Yeah, Harry. When is your cousin's birthday?"

"June 23rd" he said quietly.

The Hall was filled with angry choking noises, just like dogs getting ready to attack.

**and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**

"Horrid child!" cried Madam Pomfrey, Molly and some female student.

**Harry was glad school was over, **

"That's our Harry!" cheered Fred and George. They were very concerned about their honorary brother, but thought the better way they could help was taking his mind out of the whole issue, he had too many people to remind him of it.

**but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. **

"And I thought only at classes was bad." Said a Hufflepuff first year.

**Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, **

"Understatement." Coughed Ron.

**he was the leader. **

"Awesome logic." Laughed a girl in Ravenclaw.

"Why do you think Harry's plans end up failing in the middle?" said Hermione, shoving Harry playfully. He just scowled at her.

"In a way, it makes sense." Said Luna, but no one really took her seriously.

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry Hunting.**

There were growls from lot of throats, the most noticeable ones were the Gryffindor Quidditch team's, the Order's and the Weasley's.

"How worst can this child get?!" said Professor Sprout.

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. **

"Hey, Harrykins! Howgarts-"

"-isn't a _tiny _ray of hope!-"

"-it's a whole storm of hope!"

"Wait, you didn't even know magic was real. Why were you happy for the end of holidays?" Hermione told Harry.

"I'm sure the book explains."

**When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. **

"Because you're going Howgarts!" cheered the twins.

"Messrs. Weasley! Stop interrupting!" scolded McGonagall.

**Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. **

Many wrinkled their noses in disgust. Who in their right minds would name a school "Smeltings"?

**Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. **

"Now I see why you were happy about holidays ending." Said Hermione.

"I'm always happy the holidays end."

"And I don't blame you." Said Tonks in low voice.

"But that won't be the case this summer." Said Sirius, before glaring daggers at Dumbledore.

**Dudley thought this was very funny.**

"It won't be so funny when you find yourself turned into a pig!" cried Ginny.

Hagrid flushed and Harry snickered at the memory.

"I'm serious! I'll do it!" said angrily Ginny, looking at the laughing figure.

"It's not that. Don't worry, you'll find out very soon." Smirked Harry.

Sirius and Remus grew huge grins. They knew _that_ smirk; they had worn it several times while being marauders.

**"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"**

One could sense another uproar coming, but, fortunately, McGonagall read ahead, not leaving anytime for it.

**"No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said.**

Harry looked away and tried to keep a straight face, but it was hard when he got many congratulation pats on the back and a few compliments.

"That's my Godson!"

"Go, Harrykins! We knew you had it in you!"

"You tell him, mate!"

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. **

Some resigned sighs were given. If Mrs. Figg was like the book described her, spending the day with her couldn't be that fun – not that the Dursleys sounded like a better option.

**Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. **

Well, it seemed like things started to look good for Harry.

**It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake **

"That was nice…I guess." Said Cho.

**that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.**

"The intention is what counts." Said Luna, oblivious to the eyes staring at her; Harry thought of asking her how she wasn't bothered by them.

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform.**

"He could wear it without it ripping?! It must be size bear!" said Ron.

"RON!" scolded Hermione.

"Oh, come on, Hermione. You know he deserves it!"

"Yes, but that's not reason for you going around insulting poor bears!" mock scolded Hermione. She and people, who knew her, laughed, careless of the shocked faces around. Not many knew this side of Hermione Granger, they usually don't see any further than the prefect know-it-all. Some students started considering giving her a chance to be their friend.

** Smeltings boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. **

Harry began laughing silently at the memory, but then remembered where he was and laughed a little louder.

Other people (mainly girls) were busier trying to keep the bad mental image out of their heads.

**They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.**

"How can that be good _at all_?!" said Molly.

"If Vernon actually went to that school, it'd explain a lot." Muttered Remus.

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. **

"Congratulation, whale junior!-"

"-You're finally as pathetic as me!" mocked Fred and George gruffly.

**Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins,**

_"Still overdramatic, Tuney?"_ Thought Snape.

** he looked so handsome and grown-up. **

"More like overgrown-up." Said some voice among the Ravenclaws.

**Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.**

"What would of have happened if you did?" asked Justin.

Harry pretended not to hear; hopefully they'd just drop it. Sadly, hope isn't a very reliable source to tell the future.

"We're waiting for an answer, Mr. Potter." Urged McGonagall, refusing to read until he said something acceptable.

"Er-…well…n-nothing really bad…j-just not being allowed out?"

Harry could see anyone was buying it, but he couldn't bring himself to tell the truth and being confronted with _more_ pity. This time they, unhappily, drop the subject.

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when** **Harry went in for breakfast.**

"Tell me it wasn't your breakfast." Said Molly. She took well-feeding as a personal issue.

"It wasn't"

The Order, teachers and Harry's friends looked at him, not quite believing him.

"It's true! Just read and you'll know it!" Harry could feel his temper attempting to take over, so he fixed his gaze at the table and tried to calm down.

** It seemed to be coming from a large** **metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of** **what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water.**

People relaxed at this. At least Harry wasn't having something that smelled so horrible for breakfast.

**"What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they** **always did if he dared to ask a question.**

The teachers trembled with anger. A child should be allowed, even encouraged, to make questions. They looked at each other and vowed to talk to him about it. Probably the lad's whole school trouble was either, he wasn't understanding or he was holding himself back.

**"Your new school uniform," she said.**

"What?!"

"That's hardly considered new!"

"What's wrong with this people?!"

Harry, for his part, looked down at his Howgart's uniform and smiled to himself. Yes, it was good having nice cloth.

**Harry looked in the bowl again.**

**"Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**

Hermione snorted along with others, but then got serious. "Harry, I don't think you should push her."

Harry silently agreed with her, but he wasn't about to tell her that, nor mention this already happened.

**"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of** **Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's** **when I've finished."**

"Why don't they just buy you an actual new uniform?" asked a Gryffindor second year.

"Well, they don't like me very much and try to avoid everything that has to do with me." Harry tried to explain, but realized there wasn't a really good reason.

"But you're their family, why would they treat you like that?"

"Because they hate magic."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

That was unexpected. The-Boy-Who-Lived's realtives hated magic, it was unthinkable!

**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue.**

Harry's classmates gasped at him. Some even asked "Professor, did you read that right?"

**He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was** **going to look on his first day at Stonewall High — like he was** **wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**

Many looked sadly at him. It must of have been hard to have been laughed at at elementary school, and now have to worry about it happening again.

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses** **because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon** **opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting** **stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.**

Harry could see Molly muttering under her breath and caught some words.

"imprudent…rude…horrid child…"

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the** **doormat.**

"Mail? Is this where you get your Howgarts's letter?" asked Bill.

"Almost." Said Harry dryly; he was still upset about being tricked last night.

**"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**

"Is he drunk?" asked Ginny.

"I don't see any other explanation." Said Charlie.

**"Make Harry get it."**

**"Get the mail, Harry."**

"Maybe he's not so drunk." Said Charlie.

**"Make Dudley get it."**

"Won't work, mate." Said Dean.

**"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**

"Albus-" began McGonagall.

"Not now, my dear professor. I'm afraid that discussion is going to have to wait."

McGonagall huffed and resumed the reading.

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three** **things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister** **Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope** **that looked like a bill, and —**_**a letter for Harry.**_

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant** **elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him.**

"No one?" asked Hanna sadly.

"Who would?...at the time." Harry added the last part before his friend could object.

Neville was watching Hanna, perhaps thinking of her good heart. No, he couldn't think about these things right now. If he wanted Gran to be proud of him, he'd need to get his grades up first.

**Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives — he didn't belong** **to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for** **books back. **

Sad looks made their way to Harry. Sirius put an arm around his shoulder and leaned him close. Merlin knew Sirius needed the comfort to know his Godson was here and fine.

**Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there** **could be no mistake:**

**_Mr. H. Potter_**  
**_The Cupboard under the Stairs_**  
**_4 Privet Drive_**  
**_Little Whinging_**  
**_Surrey_**

"DUMBLEDORE!" shouted Sirius in anger. "You said you didn't know!"

"I, indeed, didn't know, Sirius-"

"Then explain the address on the letter!"

"We use self-addressing quills. Professor McGonagall just signs them." Sensing the answer wasn't good enough, Dumbledore added. "But from now on, we're going to pay more attention to the address."

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment,** **and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no** **stamp.**

**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple** **wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a** **snake surrounding a large letter H.**

"Howgarts!" said the cheers.

**"Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen.** **"What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at** **his own joke.**

"That was a joke?!"

"H-He can't possibly…!"

"B-But, he-"

Fred and George kept stuttering for a bit more, not getting over such an inferior joke.

**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. **

"Harry!" groaned Hermione.

**He** **handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and** **slowly began to open the yellow envelope.**

"You should of have open it at the hall, lad." Grunted Moody. "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and** **flipped over the postcard.**

**"Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny** **whelk . . ."**

Harry firmly nodded, a fact that everyone acknowledged. Hopefully this Marge wouldn't be worse than the Dursleys.

**"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**

"Shut it, you little…" Harry really didn't want to know what else Ron and Hermione were saying.

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written** **on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was** **jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.**

"Give it back, you walrus!" demanded Sirius.

**"That's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.**

"You tell them, Harry!" said Fred and George.

**"Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the** **letter open with one hand and glancing at it. **

"Me" said Ron, Hermione and Sirius. The others probably would, but they didn't know Harry that well; these books were prove of it.

**His face went from** **red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop** **there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge.**

**"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.**

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it,**

"Spoiled brat!"

** but Uncle Vernon held** **it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the** **first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She** **clutched her throat and made a choking noise.**

**"Vernon! Oh my goodness — Vernon!"**

"Drama queen" sneered someone over the Hufflepuff. Snape couldn't help but agree, even if the Hufflepuff was a dunderhead.

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry** **and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored.**

"Of course not!"

**He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting** **stick.**

"Oh, oh. If we'd did that…" the Weasley children trailed off in fright.

**"I want to read that letter," he said loudly.**

"It's not yours, you brat!" said Ginny.

**"I want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's mine."**

"Somehow I doubt it will work." Said Seamus.

**"Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter** **back inside its envelope.**

**Harry didn't move.**

"Oh, oh." Said Ron and Hermione covering their ears.

**"I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

Harry's face burned with shame. The Hall stared at him in shock. True, Harry had been cranky this year, but no one (or so they thought) had met his temper.

"You have quite a temper there, Harry." Said Collin in awe.

**"Let me see it!" demanded Dudley.**

**"OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and** **Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the** **hall, **

And so, the next uproar came.

"Leave him alone, you troll brain!" cried Angelina.

"Damn you, Dursley. Just wait and you'll wish you've never been born!" threatened Tonks, turning her hair into a flaming red.

"Stupid Muggle….should'a have…pig of a man…."muttered Hagrid.

**slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley** **promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at** **the keyhole;**

"Come on, Harry! I know you can do it!" cheered Fred

"Yeah! No matter how small and scrawny you are!" said George.

"Oi!"

**Dudley won,**

"Awww!" complained Fred and George.

"Hey, you've seen him! His like four times bigger than me!" defended Harry.

** so Harry, his glasses dangling from one** **ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and** **floor.**

"Do you always have to know everything?" sighed Molly.

"He wouldn't be Harry if he didn't." said Ron.

"Oi! I don't get to know _everything._"

"Eventually you will." Sighed Hermione. "Probably accompanied by a life-threatening situation." That did nothing good for Molly's nerves.

**"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at** **the address — how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You** **don't think they're watching the house?"**

"We should of have." Murmured McGonagall.

**"Watching — spying — might be following us," muttered Uncle** **Vernon wildly.**

"Well, he's a pig, obviously he said it wildly." Said Lee.

**"But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell** **them we don't want —"**

"Would that work?" asked a seventh year Ravenclaw.

"I'm not sure; it has never happen before." Answered Dumbledore politely.

"_But it almost happened, thanks to my father." _thought bitterly Snape.

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and** **down the kitchen.**

**"No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer.** **. . . Yes, that's best . . . we won't do anything. . . ."**

**"But —"**

**"I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! **

"One of those?!" said some Slytherins, clearly upset at the indignity.

**Didn't we swear when** **we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

Everyone, especially Dumbledore, froze at that. Harry could see sadness and anger in his Godfather, fury in Mrs. Weasley, sorrow in his classmates and friends, and, again, pity.

_"No, not him, too." _Thought Dumbledore. Enough of these nonsense of his; he wasn't going to keep ignoring Harry forever, not if he wanted to make up for his mistake, no matter his intentions; he had from a similar mistake several decades.

"Mr. Potter, a word in privet, if you please." Dumbledore called, looking at Harry in the eyes, for the first time that year.

They walked outside the silent Hall, and didn't stop until they were in the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore sat behind his desk and gestured Harry to sit in a chair in front of it.

"Harry… I'm so sorry, my boy."

"About what, sir?" asked Harry incredulously. Last night Dumbledore was perfectly fine about sending him back to the Dursleys, and now, he suddenly wasn't avoiding him and even apologizing! These would be confusing days.

"I'm sorry I left you there so many years ago. I didn't know they'd treat you so badly." Dumbledore looked down at this point, in an attempt to hide his shame.

"It's alright, professor."

"You're very kind and generous with your forgiveness, my boy, but I'm afraid it isn't right. When your uncle said he was to 'stamp' magic out of you, he could have actually done something really dangerous." Harry's eyes widen at the idea. "I once met a young girl, whom was attack by muggle children trying to 'stamp' magic out of her while she was performing accidental magic. Of course, they didn't know it was magic, but the result of their actions was tremendous. The girl was too scared of performing any kind of magic again, so all her magic contained within her. Until it was too much to hold inside and it exploded out of her, not being able to control it, turning her dangerous for others and herself. That could of have happen to you, Harry, and I'm deeply sorry. I promise you I will make better arrangements for you, which I'll share with you as soon as I come up with them." Dumbledore finish talking; his eyes looked haunted. Harry wanted to ask who was the girl, but thought better of it.

"Thank you, sir." Harry gave a small smile. Dumbledore smiled back. "Could I ask you something?"

"Of course, Harry. What is it?"

"Why have you been avoiding me all this year?" Harry frowned at the memory.

"That, my boy, is a talk for another day. But believe me when I tell you we'll discuss it. For now, I think we've make the school wait long enough."

Harry nodded and they walked back to the Great Hall. Once they were sat, Harry saw that look in Ron and Hermione that meant: _"What was that about?"_

Harry looked at them and murmured. "I'll tell you later."

"Professor McGonagall, if you please." Said Dumbledore.

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did** **something he'd never done before;**

"Did he make exercise?" guessed Fred.

"Did he put Dudley in his place?" asked George.

**he visited Harry in his cupboard.**

There were growls at the reminder of the cupboard.

**"Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had** **squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?"**

"Good lad, direct to the point." Said approvingly Moody.

Tonks seemed a bit jealous, but was wise enough not to comment. If she did, she was in for a long list of her mistakes, highlighting her clumsiness. Remus sensed something upsetting her and sent her a concerned look. The moment they realized where they were, they blush and looked away.

**"No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," **

"Yeah, sure." Said someone sarcastically.

**said Uncle Vernon** **shortly. "I have burned it."**

"Bastard." Muttered Sirius.

**"It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard** **on it."**

"You know? It's sad that you think of the cupboard as yours." Said a first year Hufflepuff. Everyone couldn't help but agree.

"It's not so bad-"

"Harry, stop saying it's not so bad; it _is_. And I'm going to repeat it as many times as needed for you to believe it!" said Hermione firmly, Ron nodding at her side.

**"SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell** **from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his** **face into a smile, which looked quite painful.**

"Hope it was." Said Fred and George. They weren't joking.

**"Er — yes, Harry **

"He used your name! That's a sign he wants something and needs you to cooperate." Said Tonks enthusiastically, expecting Moody to praise her as he did Harry. Moody simply nodded approvingly.

Tonks pouted.

**— about this cupboard. Your aunt and I** **have been thinking . . . **

"Run, Harry!-"

"-their brains are gonna-"

"-explode from overuse!"

**you're really getting a bit big for it . . . **

"Don't you say." Said Charlie.

Percy started to think how his family was so protective of Harry. First he thought it was out of pity, but this seemed like much more, like they considered him one more brother. He, himself used to, but after he started spreading lies about You-Know-Who it chanced. Did it, really? He was so confused. These books made him doubt about everything he knew. Maybe, just maybe, Harry was telling the truth; if he was, could his family forgive him? Could he forgive himself? Well, there would be time for that later, once the books reached the TriWizard Tournament. If he was being honest with himself, he missed his family deeply.

**we** **think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom."**

"Second bedroom?!" shouted many people angrily.

"Albus-" began McGonagall, turning to the Headmaster.

"Not now, Minverva. As I already told you, it's going to have to wait."

"Fine, but we'll discuss it tonight." demanded McGonagall. Dumbledore nodded.

**"Why?" said Harry.**

The Hall groaned and urged him to accept the bedroom.

"Don't question it!" said Hermione.

"Just take it!" said Ron.

"Why did you questioned it?" asked Ginny

"They're not normally nice at me. I wanted to know what was the trick."

Moddy nodded approvingly again.

Remus and Sirius were sadden at the thought of such a kind person like Harry not being used to be treated nicely. Definitely these books were depressing.

**"Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle.**

_"Thank you, very much, Dursley." _Thought sarcastically the teachers while suppressing growls.

**"Take this stuff upstairs,** **now."**

"Saying 'please' is not overrated, you know?" reproached Cho.

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: **

The people was too angry even to yell at the injustice, the only way they could manage to let their feelings out, was growling.

**one for Uncle Vernon** **and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister,** **Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all** **the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. **

"Let get this clear. Your cousin had a bedroom for himself and another for his junk?" said angrily Susan.

"Er – yeah?"

"Damn Muggles!"

**It only** **took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from** **the cupboard to this room. **

Now Ron was feeling even worst about complaining about his own luck with Harry, not to mention abandoning him in forth year. What would his parents and siblings say? The good thing was, there was still a long time before they reached that part. Not that the idea made him any less ashamed with his past self.

**He sat down on the bed and stared** **around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old** **video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had** **once driven over the next door neighbor's dog;**

"Poor dog!" said Hermione.

** in the corner was** **Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through** **when his favorite program had been canceled; there was a large** **birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped** **at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all** **bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of** **books. They were the only things in the room that looked as** **though they'd never been touched.**

"Can't even count, of course he can't read." Muttered angrily Professor Vector.

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his** **mother, "I don't want him in there . . . I need that room . . . make** **him get out. . . ."**

"Shut up, you bratty idiot! Unlike you, Harry deserves that bedroom!" yelled Lee, accompanied by many "yeah!" and nods of those who agreed.

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have** **given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard** **with that letter than up here without it.**

"Tough luck, mate." Smiled sadly Ron. "But the bright side is you get both, at the end!"

"I guess." Laughed quietly Harry. Harry didn't like attention too much, in fact he found it annoying, but somehow, having everyone he cared about here, trying to protect him, showing support and making him feel worthy of them, of good things, made him feel wanted, even loved. He couldn't remember the last time he felt that kind of warmth in his chest, but one thing was for sure, he loved his friends – no, family.

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was** **in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting** **stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise** **through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room** **back. **

"How can they allow him to behave like that?!" asked outraged Professor Sprout.

"At least they didn't give him back the bedroom." Said calmly Flitwick.

"Yes, but out of fear, not discipline." Sneered Snape.

Snape would very rarely take part on staff conversations, unless it meant insulting students and their work, which a troll could of have done better.

**Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly** **wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. **

"Don' yeh worry, Harry. Yeh'll get yer letter soon." Said Hagrid smiling at the memory. If only he had done something more drastic about those great prunes!

**Uncle Vernon and Aunt** **Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.**

**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying** **to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it. **

"Yeah, sure, _nice_" said Sirius.

**They heard him** **banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall.**

It was official; the female poplation had given up and accepted the Dursleys weren't fit to raise children.

**Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest** **Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive —' "**

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran** **down the hall, Harry right behind him. **

"Run, Harry-"

"-you're the faster seeker-"

"-we've had! Of course you can-"

"-out run a whale!"

**Uncle Vernon had to wrestle** **Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him,**

Some paled at that; if the prat of a man basically jumped on his son, what wouldn't he do to Harry?

** which was** **made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon** **around the neck from behind.**

Harry, Ron and Hermione gave a not-so-discrete laugh. Around them, people couldn't understand why that part was so funny. True, it was amusing, the twinkling in Dumbledore's eyes was proof of it, but it wasn't _that_ funny.

"Potter for President! Potter for President!" chanted the twins.

** After a minute of confused fighting,** **in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon** **straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in** **his hand.**

"Aw!"

**"Go to your cupboard**

Eyes widen in surprise, just to narrow dangerously.

** — I mean, your bedroom,"**

The Hall relaxed and let out a relieved sigh.

** he wheezed** **at Harry. "Dudley — go — just go."**

**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew** **he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know** **he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try** **again? **

"Of course, Mr. Potter! What are you taking us for?" mild scolded McGonagall, interrupting herself.

**And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a** **plan.**

"It won't work, right?" groan Hermione.

Harry didn't dignified it with an answer.

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning.** **Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently He mustn't wake** **the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the** **lights.**

**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet** **Drive and get the letters for number four first. His heart hammered** **as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door —**

"That's actually a good plan." Admitted Hermione.

"Yeah, where did it go wrong?" teased Ron. Harry punched him playfully in the arm.

"What makes you think it went wrong?"

**"AAAAARRRGH!"**

"And it went wrong." grinned Ron, ignoring his friend's glare.

**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and** **squashy on the doormat — something alive!**

Harry saw, from the corner of his eye, Molly was rocking lightly in fear.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley. It's nothing dangerous." She just nodded still fearful.

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that** **the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face. **

Molly sighed relieved.

"Yes!" shouted the students.

**Uncle Vernon** **had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag,** **clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying** **to do. **

"That's why you need to do the unexpected, so your enemies can't interfere your plans!" grunted Moody.

Harry was making a mental note of it when Tonks spoke.

"Come on, Mad-eye! He was only ten!"

**He shouted at Harry for about half an hour**

"Half an hour?!" cried many people.

"Isn't that a little excessive?"

"That man!"

"And we think mom's yells are bad,-"

"-and they only last a couple of minutes!"

** and then** **told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off** **into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived,** **right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed** **in green ink.**

**"I want —" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters** **into pieces before his eyes.**

"How could he?!" said Hanna. Neville ignored the need to comfort her. Why would she want him, anyways? Why would_ he_ want to?

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and** **nailed up the mail slot.**

"He lost it." Said Colin.

"I don't think he ever had it." Said Bill.

**"See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails,** **"if they can't deliver them they'll just give up."**

"Wrong!" a Slytherin said.

**"I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**

"_So 'Tuney can see reason sometimes." _Thought an amazed Snape.

**"Oh, these peoples minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're** **not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon,**

"Yeah! We're not overgrown pigs-"

"-who go and marry a horse!"

**trying to knock in a nail** **with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.**

"Yup, he lost it." Cleared Ginny.

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they** **couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the** **door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the** **small window in the downstairs bathroom.**

"Wow! Didn't think that would happen if you didn't respond the letter." Said Michael Corner.

"Indeed, Mr. Corner." Said Dumbledore.

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters,**

"He actually burnt them?!" asked outraged Justin.

**he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around** **the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed** **"Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small** **noises.**

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. **

"Began?" said worriedly Remus.

**Twenty-four letters** **to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside** **each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman** **had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. While** **Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and** **the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia** **shredded the letters in her food processor.**

"She could of have just throw them away." Suggested Cho.

"Yes, but then Harry would have had have a chance to read them." Answered Luna.

Funny how you never truly know people's true colors until situations like these force you. First Neville was standing up bravely, then Hermione could be Funny, and now, Luna was smarter than anyone gave her credit for. There's no need to mention the students will try not to prejudge anymore.

**"Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley asked** **Harry in amazement.**

"More than the ones wanting to talk to you." Cried defensibly Sirius.

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table** **looking tired and rather ill, but happy.**

"Again, not a good sign." Said Tonks.

**"No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he** **spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today —"**

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he** **spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment,** **thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like** **bullets. **

"Ha! Take that!" said Angelina.

**The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to** **catch one —**

**"Out! OUT!"**

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into** **the hall. **

"Oi! Take your hands off my Godson!"

**When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their** **arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They** **could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off** **the walls and floor.**

"There must have been a lot of letters." Said Seamus surprised.

**"That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but** **pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want** **you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away.** **Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"**

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no** **one dared argue.**

"Oh, yeas, a whale with half a mustache it's so much dangerous than a basilisk, a dragon and You-Know-Who." Said Ron sarcastically.

"Don't forget the acromantula." Smirked Harry as Ron shrugged in disgust.

**Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way** **through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward** **the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; **

"Such a baby." Someone said pompously in the Slytherin table.

**his father had** **hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack** **his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.**

"Jerk." Said Katie.

"Are you saying it to Dudley or Vernon?" asked Patil Parvatil.

"Any…both…What's the difference?"

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare** **ask where they were going.**

"I thought she didn't approve of questions." Said Alicia Spinnet.

"Just if it's me." Said Harry.

_"That's it"!_ The teachers thought angrily. They were going to have a talk to Harry, no matter what.

** Every now and then Uncle Vernon** **would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a** **while.**

**"Shake 'em off . . . shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he** **did this.**

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. **

"But Mr. Potter can't afford miss a meal!" cried Madam Pomfrey.

"I don't think they care." Said Lisa Turpin.

**By nightfall Dudley was** **howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry,** **he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd** **never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**

"Aww, your life must be terrible!" mocked Susan.

"Being in Harry's shoes for a day would do you a lot of good." Said Angelina.

Harry didn't dare to say his shoes had been Dudley's, because he didn't understand what Angelina meant.

"Thanks?"

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on** **the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with** **twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry** **stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights** **of passing cars and wondering. . . .**

"Must of have been confusing. Being sent hundreds of letters your relatives deny to let you read, and then not knowing where you are or if the letters will reach you." Said Luna.

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for** **breakfast the next day. **

"At least you ate something." Sighed Molly.

**They had just finished when the owner of** **the hotel came over to their table.**

**" 'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an** **'undred of these at the front desk."**

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**

**_Mr. H. Potter_**  
**_Room 17_**  
**_Railview Hotel_**  
**_Cokeworth_**

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his** **hand out of the way.**

"Give my Godson his letters, walrus!"

**The woman stared.**

**"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following** **her from the dining room.**

**"Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia** **suggested timidly, hours later, **

"Hours later? She should have said so much before!" said Hermione.

**but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to** **hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. **

"Good! It'd mean your mind works like his." Said Ron nodding his head.

**He** **drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked****around,** **shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The** **same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway** **across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking** **garage.**

"Wow! I never thought there would be someone more paranoid than Mad-eye." Awed Tonks, before being sent a grunt.

**"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia** **dully late that afternoon.**

"Must be bad if Dudley notices." Said Ernie.

** Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast,** **locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.**

"Argh! That man!" said many.

**It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley** **sniveled.**

**"It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on** **tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television."**

"Who cares? You're tapped in a car in Merlin-knows-where!" said Angelina.

"He needs to sort out his priorities, right Hermione?" said Harry grinning as Hermione flushed.

**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it was Monday****— and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days of** **the week, because of television — then tomorrow, Tuesday, was** **Harry's eleventh birthday. **

"Happy Birthday, Harry!" yelled most of the students, much to Dumbledore's amusement.

"It's not my birthday." Smiled Harry, nonetheless. He never had a fun birthday as he had never spend it somewhere other than Surrey, so he was going to enjoy the idea all of the same.

"Shut up and enjoy it." Said George.

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly** **fun — last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger** **and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. **

"They weren't even a bit nicer in your birthdays?!" said Hermione.

"They have no souls, Hermione." Said Ron angrily.

Draco Malfoy was thinking along the same lines. _Wow! Potter had near to nothing for years and here I thought he was living the perfect life! _Potter could have all the attention and fame; he preferred to know his mother, at least, wanted him.

**Still, you weren't eleven** **every day.**

Everyone smiled softly at the memory of going Hogwarts at eleven.

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying** **a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she** **asked what he'd bought.**

**"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone** **out!"**

"It better be a good place." Threatened Molly.

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at** **what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the****rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. **

Molly, Sirius and Remus growled merciless.

**One** **thing was certain, there was no television in there.**

"Trust Harry to say something like that." Snorted Hermione.

**"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping** **his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to** **lend us his boat!"**

"Please, say he's kidding."

"Sorry, Hanna"

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a** **rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray** **water below them.**

**"I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all** **aboard!"**

**It was freezing in the boat. **

"Harry, dear, are you cold?" asked Molly.

"No, Mrs. Weasley. I'm fine." Sirius put an arm around him, just in case.

**Icy sea spray and rain crept down** **their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what** **seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping** **and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.**

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind** **whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace** **was damp and empty.**

Everybody was too sadden to reproach at a man who wasn't there.

** There were only two rooms.**

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and** **four bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just** **smoked and shriveled up.**

**"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.**

"Bastard."

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody** **stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail.**

"Think again', Dursley!" called Hagrid.

**Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up** **at all.**

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray** **from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce****wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy** **blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the** **moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed** **next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he** **could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**

"Are you sure you're not cold, dear?"

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley, I'm sure." Harry couldn't bring himself to tell her he wasn't in that broken house, nor that it was May. She looked perfectly happy fussing over him.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went** **on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get** **comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. **

"Albus, do you think we could give Harry some food? It's still a while until dinner." Said Molly.

"Of course, Molly." Dumbledore applauded once and, in front of Harry, appeared a platefilled with roast beef, mashed potato and pasta.

Harry didn't think he was up to eat more than three meals a day (at Hogwarts), and didn't think he could manage until the reading was over.

Harry opened his mouth to protest, probably saying he wasn't hungry, but never said a word.

"Harry, just eat. Merlin knows you wouldn't do bad with a bit of more food." Said Sirius. How could he say no to his Godfather?

And so, Harry set to eat.

**Dudley's snores** **were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight.** **The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over** **the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten** **minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering** **if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the** **letter writer was now.**

Sirius sent McGonagall a suggestive look she answered with a stern glare.

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. **

"The roof didn't fall, right." Sniffed Hermione in worry.

"No, 'Mione, don't worry. From here good things begin." Said Harry looking at Hagrid.

The tension dropped a little at those words. Finally they were almost over with the Dursleys!

**He** **hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be** **warmer if it did. **

"Harry." Groaned Remus. "Is it too much to ask for you to have positive thoughts?"

Harry didn't know if he was supposed to answer, so he shrugged and looked away.

**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet** **Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be** **able to steal one somehow.**

Moody nodded. _"Good, lad. Is going to be a good Auror." _He thought.

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock** **like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching** **noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?**

There were, at least, a hundred of widen eyes examining Harry to reassure themselves he was fine.

Sirius looked like he was going to have a heart attack for the way he trembled while his arms were protectively around Harry. How would he take second year? Or fourth? Hopefully he'd still have an alive and mentally stable Godfather by the end of the books.

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds . . .** **twenty . . . ten . . . nine — maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to** **annoy him — three . . . two . . . one . . .**

Fred and George were ready to yell "Happy Birthaday!" but McGonagall read faster.

**BOOM.**

Every student and order member (except Moody) flinched at that.

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at** **the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

"W-Who was it, dear?" asked Molly shivering in fear for her 'eight child'.

"Don't worry Mrs. Wealsey. Is safe." Reassured Harry for the fourth or fifth time that day.

"Who's going to read next?" asked McGonagall.

* * *

**A.N.: Hey, so what do you say?**

**Is Harry telling the truth about the Dursleys not hurting him? Will Dumbledore tell Harry about the ****prophesy? Will the Order have another talk with Harry? Will Bill make up for tricking Harry into talking? Who will read next?**

**I really hope you like it and you let me know what you think; I spent a lot of time in this. ****Really, these things are harder than they look like.**

**P.S. I'm writing this story in a word doc, so when the story is finished I'll upload it in my profile as pdf, for you to download (if you want to).**


	5. Book1: C4- The Keeper of the Keys

**A.N.: Hey, I know I made you wait really long for this chapter and I apologize. I haven't got the time nor energy to write something this long. You'll see, it's the rainy season in my city, which means it's been raining two weeks straight. My house is filled with leaks -especially my bedroom-, so I had to move to another bedroom, where I sleep on a mattress on the floor (really uncomfortable). Besides, I had to help moving the things that could be ruined with rain to the same bedroom I was moved to. Now I can't really sleep and don't have a lot of space to move.**

**Hope is reason enough not to be mad at me.**

**Anyways, enjoy.**

* * *

** Book1:C4 "The Keeper Of The Keys."**

"You say good things happen from now on, right?" asked Tonks.

"Yeah, mostly." Said Harry, but as soon as he said the second word, he regretted it dearly.

Mrs. Weasley was shaking nervously. There were still bad things happening! She could only hope the worst was over, but then she remembered the Chamber of the Secrets and the return of You-Know-Who. Her eyes snapped wide open and were examining Harry from head to foot, reassuring herself everything was alright…for now. But for how long would it be alright? How much longer could she protect her children – that included Harry and Hermione - ? Probably not long enough. It would never be long enough.

Mrs. Weasley's thoughts were interrupted by a tiny voice.

"I'll read next, Minerva." Said Flitwick. For dramatic effects and to not give away the chapter, he didn't announce the title. Everyone was too in the story to notice.

**BOOM.**

There were some suppressed laughs. No matter the seriousness of the situation, the students (and some adults) thought Flitwick making such noises was one of the funniest things they've seen. Would it be worth a detention for laughing while Professor Flitwick read?

** They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.**

**"Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.**

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands — now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**

"What's a rifle?" asked Arthur, for the first time he didn't want to know about the muggle inventions, but he needed to.

"Is a dangerous weapon." Said Hermione, eyes widened in fear. Was someone hurt?

Harry seemed calm. That's a good sign.

"And he brought one near children?!" yelled Molly, half angry, half scared.

Nobody knew what to say to that. All they could do was wait and listen. The faster they read, the faster their nerves would settle.

Harry wouldn't even try to say something in order to calm the others. He had done that before and ended up making it worst. It was better to just be quiet. And wait for it to be over.

**"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you — I'm armed!" There was a pause. Then —**

**SMASH!**

Flinches reached the people in the Hall.

Had the situation been different, they would have laugh at the shrieks coming from Flitwick. He looked like a baby bird imitating a roaring bear.

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.**

Molly, Sirius and Remus paled significantly. The person was inside. Hopefully it wasn't a Death Eater or something of the sort.

Sirius encased Harry into his arms by instinct. Harry suddenly knew that he'd have his Godfather's arms' marks all over his chest by the end of the first book. He just knew it.

**A giant of a man was standing in the doorway.**

The tension was high, now. You could hear whispers saying "…please be Hagrid, please be Hagrid…"

Harry smiled discretely at the scene. _If only they knew…_ But his smile was soon wiped out of his face as Sirius grew tenser, too, and squeezed his arms tighter.

** His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**

"…please say it's Hagrid…say it's Hagrid…"

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame.**

_That's probably what Hagrid'd do. _Thought some people, but nobody dared to truly believe it was him; not until they were sure.

Sirius' arms loosened a little.

** The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.**

"…Come on! Be Hagrid!..."

**"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey. . . ."**

"Hagrid!" sighed in relief the Hall, dropping the tension.

It wasn't possible to see behind his tangled, black beard, but one could say Hagrid was smiling heartily.

To get rid of the last bit of fright and tension, some students began laughing slightly, shaking their heads.

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.**

**"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.**

"You tell-" said Fred.

"-him, Hagrid!" finished George.

"Boys!" scolded Molly, but she didn't mean it – at least, not fully. But then she saw a flinch in Harry. Of course, that darned word! Molly wanted to kick herself. How could she have forgotten?

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

"Thank you, Hagrid. You're great!" said Sirius, who had released his Godson as soon as he figured out there had been no danger.

**"An' here's Harry!" said the giant.**

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.**

"You're making him sound scary." Giggled Ginny.

Harry smiled sheepishly at her, and, for some reason he couldn't understand, blushed. He quickly looked away, praying anyone had noticed it – whatever _it_ was.

Ginny did notice it, though. _Does it mean he likes me- No! Come on, Weasley! We're over him and we're dating Michael!_ She thought furiously, before risking another glance at Harry. _But what if really, really, deep down, he…likes me?_

Ginny had tried for years to move on from her childhood crush, but it was terribly hard; every time she believed herself to be over him, he would cross her path and all the progress she had done to forget him, suddenly disappeared. So, Ginny simply started to accept that she may date someone else, she may even get married, but the doubt of what could have been would always remain.

With a resigned sigh, Ginny came back to listening Flitwick's squeaks. She couldn't help but imagine Hagrid moving his mouth and shrieks coming out of it. She'd have to thank whoever or whatever made Flitwick want to read that chapter.

**"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."**

Harry looked down, smiling sadly. How was it possible to miss this much, someone you don't even remember?

A soft pressure was put on Harry's shoulder. He looked up to realize it was Sirius giving him a comforting hand. Not fully looking up, Harry offered him a small smile before looking down again.

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.**

**"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"**

"Oh, and exactly who are_ you _to tell Hagrid what to do?!" said Charlie angrily.

**"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant;**

"Exactly, Hagrid!" cheered Fred and George.

Hagrid looked at all his friends and smiled. There was such a warm feeling spreading inside of him at watching all the support he got. It was almost worth it for getting expelled, all those years ago.

**he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**

Tonks, Molly, most of the female teachers and students sighed in relief. _Thank Merlin that's taken care of!_

"Thank you, Hagrid." Said Hermione. Hagrid waved it off raising a hand.

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

_Good!_ Thought Mad-eye, careful of not letting show his emotion on his face.

**"Anyway — Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here**

"Please, say you didn't get him one of your pets." Murmured Hermione.

Just the closest to her heard it – mainly Ron. Ron couldn't help but chuckle at her distress face. Couldn't she see anything dangerous happened? After all, Harry was right here and he was fine – fine when it wasn't about You-Know-Who.

** — I mighta sat on it at some point,**

Hermione paled a little and Ron held back a laugh; he had to admit that when she was worried, she looked kind of _cute_. Wait! Where did that come from? She was like a sister to him, nothing more…right?

**— I mighta sat on it at some point,**

Hermione paled a little and Ron held back a laugh; he had to admit that when she was worried, she looked kind of _cute_. Wait! Where did that come from? She was like a sister to him, nothing more…right?

**but it'll taste all right."**

_Oh! _Thought Hermione. S_o it wasn't a pet. Good. _She could have pretend anything strange had passed through her mind, hadn't it been for Ron, who kept staring at her, almost laughing out loud.

It was a good thing her glare still had effect on him, so he didn't dare to even snicker.

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers.**

People leaned forward in anticipation.

**Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with ****_Happy Birthday Harry _****written on it in green icing.**

"Aww!"

"That's so nice of you, Hagrid!" said Molly.

"Thank you, Hagrid." Said Sirius.

_Sirius said 'Thank you'?! Willingly?! _Thought Remus. _Well, to give him credit, he really cares about Harry._

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but**

"But-"

"-what, Harryiekins?-"

"-what can be more important-"

"-than manners?" mock scolded Fred and George, provoking a few chuckles.

"Mom must be so ashamed." Said Ginny in the same mocking way. _Probably I am spending too much time with them. _She thought.

"Weasleys, be quiet!" said Umbridge.

Molly seemed ready to throw a painful curse at her. How dare she?! First hurting her unofficial son and then telling her other children what to do!

Had Flitwick not hurry to read and Arthur not hold his wife down, she would have very probably hex her into the oblivion.

**the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

**The giant chuckled.**

"When are you going to stop calling him 'the giant'?" asked Dean.

"Maybe when I learn his name?" suggested Harry.

**"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."**

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**

"Careful, Hagrid." Reprimanded McGonagall.

**"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."**

"Hagrid!" scolded Madam Pomfrey. "You shouldn't drink in front of children!"

"It had been a hard journey-" Hagrid began to explain but stopped at the stern looks he was getting.

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there.**

"Good. Now you won't be cold, dear." Said Molly.

**It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath.**

"You violated the Secrecy Decree, Mr. Hagrid." Accused Umbridge, wearing that smug smirk of hers.

Hagrid paled. He had been in Azkaban three years ago – because of the Chamber's incident – and he certainly didn't want to ever go back there.

The ones who cared gasped and rose to their feet, just to be stopped from whatever argument or hex they were going to use, by Dumbledore.

"Now, now, Dolores. As we read in the first chapter, the Dursley family is well aware of the existence of magic. Hagrid wasn't breaking the law." Explained Dumbledore.

Umbridge's face lost smugness and adopted anger, instead.

"If I'm right – and I think I am – Mr. Hagrid is not allowed to use magic, since he was expelled sometime in his third year." When Umbridge was angry, Harry thought, she resembled a toad even more. He never thought that to be possible.

"And, Dolores, are you allowed to hand down those kind of… 'punishments' of yours to students, might I add, underage students?" said calmly Dumbledore; his eyes twinkling madly.

The student who knew what Dumbledore was talking about went through a series of emotions, the first one being shock. Dumbledore knows! How did he know? Maybe he just found out and is going to put a stop to it. Or, maybe, he knew all along and just waited to use that card in his favor. The sudden feeling of betray hit them as though they had been sent a stinging curse, right in the guts.

Was it something Dumbledore would do? Let them to face hours of torture just for him to have a secret 'weapon' or last resource? For many, the answer to these questions didn't seem to matter as long as Umbridge wasn't able to use the dreaded quill again; however, for others, the answers were utterly important. How could they stay calmed and relaxed when their own Headmaster would use them and let them suffer, as long as he got his way?

There was a way they could have a clear idea of what they should feel, regarding the Headmaster.

Their gaze fell on Harry Potter.

Most students may not be sure about believing Harry about You-Know-Who's return, but if there was something he knew, it was what was going on at school, therefore, the Headmaster.

Harry seemed shocked, too, but a smirk made its way to his face. He definitely knew something they didn't. But, meanwhile it would mean trouble to Umbridge, they didn't care what it was. It'd probably be in the books, anyways.

Umbridge had fell silent for a moment, now. "Alright, Headmaster. But this discussion isn't over yet."

"You're right, Dolores. This discussion is far from over." Said Dumbledore, the slightest hint of anger in his voice.

"Wait a moment. Punishments? What is he talking about, Dolores?" said Fudge, clearly confused.

Madam Bones seemed to catch interest at the statement, too, as she held her parchment and quill ready to take note.

"That's going to have to wait, Minister. I assure you we'll have a conference about it soon. For the time being, let's continue with the reading. Filius, if you please?" said Dumbledore.

"Of course, Headmaster." Answered Flitwick and continued to read.

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea.**

"Is there something you don't have in your coat?" asked Collin in amazement.

"Guess I've a lot o' things in there" chuckled Hagrid. The color had finally came back to his face.

**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."**

"Like he deserves it" said a second year Hufflepuff.

**The giant chuckled darkly.**

"Hey! You said you'd stop calling him 'the giant' when you'd learn his name!" said Dean, not angrily, more like a light whine.

"Well, I didn't write these books, now did I?" said Harry with a hint of irritation Dean didn't sense.

It wasn't the comment itself that angered him; it was the reminder of the books talking about him._ Like it wasn't enough with 'The Prophet'. Why couldn't people just leave his personal life alone? Why did he agree to read these books?_

**"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."**

"Go, Hagrid!" cheered Fred and George.

**He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful,**

"You must have been really hungry if you thought Hagrid's cooking was good." Murmured Ron.

Harry smiled to show he agreed, but Hermione didn't think among the same lines, as she whacked Ron on the back of the head.

"Be thankful Hagrid didn't hear you." She scolded.

**but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."**

"So polite!" said Molly fondly.

"Must have been really confusing." giggled Tonks. "Hagrid, you should have explained before sit down to eat."

"I thought he knew 'bout Hogwarts." Murmured Hagrid, turning pink in the face.

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

**"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts — yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."**

**"Er — no," said Harry.**

"Oh, oh. Hagrid's not going to like that." Said Neville.

**Hagrid looked shocked.**

"O' course I was." said Hagrid, before muttering "…Not knowin' anythin'… Darned Dursley…"

**"Sorry," Harry said quickly.**

"Quickly? Why would you apologize quickly for something that isn't your fault?" asked Hermione.

"Wait, why would you apologize, at all?" said Sirius "you didn't do anything wrong."

"I-I…Er-...Can we talk about it later?" said Harry hopefully.

"Alright, but we'll talk about it." sighed Sirius. The only reason he indulged, was because he was starting to feel guilty about confronting his Godson in front of the Order and his friends. If he was going to do this right, he needed to make this kind of talks privately.

**"****_Sorry_****?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry!**

"Darn right!"

"Mister Jordan!"

**I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"**

**"All what?" asked Harry.**

**"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered.**

The scene that was being recreated in the minds of everyone was contrasting with the squeaks of Flitwick. It seemed impossible not to, at least, chuckle.

Harry remembered that day and couldn't help but snort at the reactions of the Dursleys if Hagrid's voice had been anything like Flitwick's, it would have been really amusing.

**"Now wait jus' one second!"**

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**

"Turn them into-"

"-the rats they are!"

**"Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy — this boy! — knows nothin' abou' — about ANYTHING?"**

To give Flitwcik some credit, he was really making an effort to imitate Hagrid's growls (in the book), but it just sounded like a scared mouse squeaking at the top of its lungs.

"Oh, Hagrid. Couldn't you say it with a little more tact?" sighed Hermione.

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.**

"See?"

"Yeah, Hermione, we understood." Said Ron hurriedly, not because he wanted to be mean to Hermione, but because he wanted to hear about what Hagrid did to the people who hurt his best mate.

**"I know ****_some _****things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff."**

"Not what he meant, kiddo." Laughed Sirius, along with the rest of the Hall.

"How was I supposed to know?" defended Harry, cheeks pink in embarrassment.

Sirius just ruffled his hair as answer.

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About ****_our _****world, I mean. ****_Your _****world. ****_My _****world. ****_Yer parents' world._****"**

"Oh, Hagrid! You're just confusing him." said Pomona in amusement.

"For the way Hagrid's saying it, you'd think Harry's an alien." Murmured Dean.

"A what?" said Neville, though didn't look too concerned about it; his mind was somewhere else – or rather someone.

"Never mind."

"Wow, that's really nice." Said Neville, looking at the Hufflepuff table.

"Neville, are you alright?" said Dean, following his gaze.

"Yeah, me too."

Dean and a few who heard laughed. "Why don't you ask her out, Nev?" encouraged Seamus.

"W-Wha- Who?" blushed Neville.

"Hannah. I bet she's hoping for you to ask her out." Said Dean.

"I-I…I don't think that's a good idea."

Unknown to Neville, Dean and Seamus heard the unspoken words -_I don't think she likes me_-, but decided to drop the matter; after all, there was plenty of time left.

**"What world?"**

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.**

**"DURSLEY!" he boomed.**

Many just had to laugh, if not for someone doing something about those Dursleys, about Filius' shrieks; the first years never thought their Charms teachers could be so funny –intending to be, or not.

For his part, Snape was trying to work out why a teacher would subject himself to a constant snickering and giggling from the students – even after the chapter was over -, like Flitwick was doing.

The more Snape gave it a thought, the more confused he got. The whole idea was simply beyond his understanding.

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.**

**"But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're ****_famous. _****You're ****_famous._****"**

_Here it comes. _Thought Snape. _The Potter arrogance._

**"What? My — my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"**

_That's strange. Why didn't Potter embraced his fame right away? That's not something his father would have done…_

**"Yeh don' know . . . yeh don' know . . ." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.**

_Poor Hagrid!_ Cooed Hermione in her mind. It must have been something hard to explain, especially to someone, who a minute ago didn't know magic was real. She could only hope Hagrid had tact. Had Ron explained it… Hermione shook her head. Oddly, every time she thought about tact, she ended thinking in Ron. Well, it was normal; given Ron was a tactless git, who wouldn't notice her. That didn't mean she wanted him to notice her as something more than friends. What a stupid thought! Why would she want that?! Why would anyone want that?! No, she didn't want anything more than friendship with Ronald Weasley; no matter how fun it was to argue with him, or how amusing his sense of humor was, or…

Hermione stopped her train of thought. She didn't need Ron. She once had Viktor Krum; she could have anyone she wanted…even Ron; that's it if she wanted to, which she didn't!

**"Yeh don' know what yeh ****_are_****?" he said finally.**

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**

"Why?!" groaned half the Hall.

**"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"**

"I'd like to see you try, Dursley!" cried Charlie.

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him;**

"That means nothing. The Dursleys are a bunch of cowards!" said Seamus.

Harry secretly thanked Seamus was on his side, now. After all, Harry _did_ know how mean Seamus could be. Thankfully that time was over.

**when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**

**"You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"**

**"Kept ****_what _****from me?" said Harry eagerly.**

**"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic. Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**

"That's so frustrating! Tell him already!" cried Katie.

**"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry — yer a wizard."**

"Smooth" said Fred and George.

"How did you react to that, mate?" asked Ron grinning.

"You know, normal." Said Harry, looking a little embarrassed.

"Why do I doubt that?" said Hermione. She and Ron leaned, as if expecting something amusing.

"Oh, shut it, you two!" snapped, playfully, Harry.

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

**"I'm a ****_what_****?" gasped Harry.**

There was silence inside the Hall. Then, heartly laughs sounded through the room.

"Yeah, Harry, that's a very normal reaction." Laughed Ron.

"Hey, how would you have reacted?" defended Harry, pink in the cheeks, but Ron didn't answer.

"Obviously not as patethic as you, Potter." Snickered Malfoy in a nasty way.

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but some people beat him to it.

"Shut up, Malfoy." Roared the D.A. and the Quidditch team. The teachers and the Order were glaring at Draco with loathing, but knew better than to have a row with a teenager.

"Ten point from Slytherin!" said McGonagall.

In certain way, the little display was touching to Harry. Before Hogwarts no one would stick up for him, and here he was, having more than thirty people he could call friends. They were his reason to fight Voldemort, even if he'd have to give his life for them; it'd be worth it.

When everyone quieted down, Flitwick resumed the chapter.

**"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be?**

"Darn right!"

"Mister Black!" said McGonagall.

"I'm not a student anymore!"

McGonagall just glared, sending shivers to Sirius' spine. Several snickered and giggled, but none harder than Remus and Harry. Sirius ruffled (again) his Godson's messy hair and thought about how happy life could be after such a nightmare called Azkaban.

**An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."**

"Finally!"

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Huton- the-Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and read:**

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL**

**_of _****WITCHCRAFT ****_and _****WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

**(****_Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_**

**_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards _****)**

Harry looked down at that. Was Dumbledore angry with him for making him lose his title? Was it part of the reason he was avoiding him? Not knowing was killing him - had been for the whole year -, but, at least, now he knew he'd have an answer soon.

**_Dear Mr. Potter,_**

**_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted_**

**_at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please_**

**_find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._**

**_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no_**

**_later than July 31._**

**_Yours sincerely,_**

**_Minerva McGonagall,_**

**_Deputy Headmistress_**

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first.**

_Well, he isn't totally lost about asking questions. _Thought the teachers.

**After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"**

"Of all the things you could have ask, why that?" asked Angelina.

"Dunno"

**"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse,**

"Ouch!"

**and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl — a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl —**

"What?!"

"Hagrid! You shouldn't keep an owl in your pocket!" chided Hermione.

"I kno', Hermione, but I didn't want it to get wet, with the storm and everythin'." Said Hagrid sheepishly.

**a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:**

**_Dear Professor Dumbledore,_**

**_Given Harry his letter._**

**_Taking him to buy his things tomorrow._**

**_Weather's horrible. Hope you're well._**

**_Hagrid_**

"Right to the point." Chuckled Remus.

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.**

"You didn't want it to get wet, eh, Hagrid?" accused Hermione.

Harry couldn't believe the shades of pink and red Hagrid's (visible) face was getting.

"Not mo' than necessary. It was a important note." Said an embarrassed Hagrid. This seemed to be enough to Hermione.

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

Malfoy was about to make another nasty comment, but most the people in the Hall glared at him, so he decided it wasn't worth it, and kept quiet

**"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**

**"He's not going," he said.**

"He's still on about that?!" said many in irritated disbelief. How thick could that man be?

**Hagrid grunted.**

**"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said.**

**"A what?" said Harry, interested.**

"A muggle, Harry!-"

"-Pay attention!" said Fred and George.

Harry turned his head away from them and murmured something anyone could hear clearly.

**"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."**

"Well said, Hagrid!" cheered Tonks.

**"We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"**

Dumbledore cringed. They may have not made the same amount of damage to Harry, than the muggle boys made to his sister, but there may be some. Probably that was the reason Harry struggled so much in class – he vanished a large glass as accidental magic, but now that he's learning it, it's difficult for him. -, but that couldn't be assured to be truth; the young boy managed a patronus when thirteen!

**"You ****_knew_****?" said Harry. "You ****_knew _****I'm a — a wizard?"**

_Of course Tuney knew! Two faced cow! _Thought Snape, angrily.

**"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "****_Knew_****! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was?**

"Oi!" cried the Order and teachers. Harry would have, too, if he wouldn't feel hypocrite for not saying anything when it actually happened.

**Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that — that ****_school _****— and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats.**

_Liar…_Thought many people.

**I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak!**

It took every inch of auto control Snape had, not to snap something nasty to a woman who wasn't there, for something said five years ago.

**But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"**

"You should have, too!" said the muggleborns who had non-magical siblings. Most of these siblings were jealous and would condemn them for having the magic they wanted. It was always hard when your own family hated you for something that wasn't your decision.

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.**

_She was. _Thought Snape. _Though, she said plenty of it to Lily when they were children._

**"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as — as — ****_abnormal _****—**

"Say it again. I dare you!" said Hermione, making a move for her wand, but Ron stopped her.

Sirius and Remus would have taken their wands, too, but they were shaking with anger, so it wasn't possible.

**and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"**

"That's horrible!"

"How could she?!"

"The stupid woman!"

Harry didn't bow his head; he simply looked down. Why did those words hurt so much? Maybe because they were true, just horridly described.

"Harry, you OK, kiddo?" said Sirius.

Harry nodded, not ready to speak.

**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"**

**"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"**

Harry sighed. It was – _is _– detestable when others knew more about him than himself.

**"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.**

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.**

**"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh — but someone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."**

"That would have been awful!" said Molly _I doubt anyone could say it worst than that… woman, but it was still better to hear it soon._

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**

_Next 'ime I see 'em I'll throw 'em mo' than a dirty look. _Thought furiously Hagrid.

**"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh — mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it. . . ."**

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with — with a person called — but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows —"**

**"Who?"**

**"Well — I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."**

**"Why not?"**

"And so begins the unstoppable curiosity…" said Hermione. Harry ducked his head in embarrassment.

_You're not helping, Miss Granger._ Thought some professors. Merlin knew the boy needed encouragement to ask questions and voice his concerns! Though it wouldn't be bad if Harry'd get away from dangerous situations.

**"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went . . . bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was . . ."**

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**

**"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.**

**"Nah — can't spell it. All right — ****_Voldemort._****" Hagrid shuddered.**

There was a collective shudder. Harry thought there would be a lot of them, throughout the books. Hopefully, when the reading was over, everyone would shudder no more.

**"Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this — this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' is power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know ho ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches . . . terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him — an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only**

**one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.**

**"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before . . . probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.**

Sirius, Remus and Moody were nodding frenetically.

**"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em . . . maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' — an' —"**

Everyone with a beating, loving heart, was on verge to tears. Even if some didn't know very well Harry, they didn't want him dead either. Truth be said, there were quite a number of those with an icy cold heart. They didn't care a knut about this thing; for them, the faster they could go back to their dormitories, the best.

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

**"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad — knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find — anyway . . .**

**"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then — an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing — he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh — took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even — but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts**

There was a respectful silence to honor the fallen, where many bowed their heads.

**— an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."**

Harry could feel all the eyes on him. Perhaps they thought they'd get an answer if they'd stare long enough.

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before — and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.**

Eyes went wide, mouths gaped and shivers were sent to everyone's spine. Anyone should remember that.

The Hall went silent for some moments. What could they say?

After he was over the shock, Sirius gave a half hug to Harry. They stood there, just like that, enjoying being together and lightly suffering for the past. It was relatively nice.

**Hagrid was watching him sadly.**

**"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot . . ."**

**"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there.**

"Me too, Harry, me too." Said quietly many students.

**Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage.**

"What little he had." Murmured Harry for himself.

**He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**

**"Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured**

"How dare he?!"

"Filthy muggle!"

"You and your foolish family are going to suffer the wrong end of my wand!"

The Order, the staff and the D.A. looked for any important reaction in Harry; they weren't sure if Harry _did_ tell them the truth – not until the evening, anyways.

There seemed to be anything that gave them a reason to suspect Harry hadn't been honest, so they allowed themselves to relax.

Bill looked nervously at Harry. He felt like a cruel man for tricking him into talking, but they _needed_ to know. Looking back, yes, there were lots of things they could have done better, but with the day it had been and all the information they learned, it was hard to think things thoroughly. He couldn't make better the past, but he'd try to compensate Harry for it; the first step was getting his forgiveness – not that he expected to get it, though he_would_ apologize.

**— and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion — asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types — just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end —"**

"Shut up, Dursley!" cried Sirius. Everyone was too infuriated to tell him something.

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley — I'm warning you — one more word . . ."**

"Thank you, Hagrid!"

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

**"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.**

Seeing Hagrid's guilty face, Harry said "Not like the sofa was in good condition after Dudley slept on it."

Hagrid smiled at him.

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.**

"Good." Said the respectable teachers, in unison.

Harry blushed and ducked his head.

**"But what happened to Vol-, sorry — I mean, You-Know- Who?"**

"Look at it, Harry Potter said You-Know-Who at some point!" stated Ron.

"May be, but I'm not holding back in saying it now." Smirked Harry.

Ron groaned.

**"Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see . . . he was gettin' more an' more powerful — why'd he go?**

"He never left." Said Harry.

Umbridge was about to hand out another detention, but a look from Dumbledore stopped her.

**"Some say he died.**

"He did." Said Umbridge, though was mostly ignored.

**Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die.**

"Interesting theory, Hagrid." Said Dumbledore, ignoring the flush of the half-giant.

**Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it.**

"Well, Hagrid was right." Muttered Harry.

**People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances.**

"Like the Imperius curse?" asked Hermione.

"I think so, Miss Granger." Said Dumbledore, politely.

**Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.**

**"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on — ****_I _****dunno what it was, no one does — but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake.**

There was a collective "Huh?"

**A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?**

"I don't like the sound of that." Muttered Molly.

The students and Ministry worker (the ones loyal to Fudge) were stunned. How was I even possible that _the _Harry Potter didn't think himself special? Had it been any of them, they'd sure be smug and rant on and on about it. Though, with a treatment like the one the Dursleys gave him, it wasn't too surprising he thought that way. Probably the only good thing that came out of Harry living with them, was that he was selfless – sometimes too much -, he was caring, nice and polite – a surprising fact, that one.

**"Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."**

"Come on, Potter. How thick can you be?!" cried Malfoy, but no one was paying him attention.

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled.**

" 'Course I did." Said Hagrid, amused. "The son o' Lily and James Potter not a wizard. Ha!"

**"Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"**

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it . . . every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry . . . chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach . . .**

"Impressive." Said Cho, smiling at Harry.

Harry smiled back goofily.

"When are you asking her out?" asked Sirius.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"The pretty Ravenclaw girl you're smiling at, like an idiot."

"Oi!"

"You know it's true."

"Ugh! Let me be, Sirius!" whispered Harry.

"Come on, take her on a date."

"Er- I may have already take her on a date."

"Really? Is she your girlfriend, now?"

"Er- no. You'll see…er-…the date…didn't go… too well." Said Harry blushing.

"Oh. Well, there can always be a second date. She's been smiling at you every now and then." Winked Sirius.

"Really?" said Harry dreamingly.

"See, that's the goofy smile I was talking about."

"Ugh! Shut up, Sirius!"

**dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back . . . and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**

"Priceless!" laughed Fred and George.

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.**

**"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard — you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

Harry groaned. _Stupid fame!_

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

**"Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish — spell books and wands and —"**

**"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort,**

"Glad to be-"

"-youngsters of your sort, Harry" said Fred and George.

**fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled—"**

**"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**

"Oh-oh"

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER —" he thundered, "— INSULT — ALBUS — DUMBLEDORE — IN — FRONT — OF — ME!"**

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley — there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain.**

"What did you do, Hagrid?" asked Fred and George in delight.

**When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

There were roaring laughs in the Hall.

"Nice, Hagrid."

"Well done!"

"You broke the law, Mr. Hagrid-" started Umbridge, but Dumbledore cut her off.

"The quills, Dolores." He said with a polite smile.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.**

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**

**"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."**

"Brilliant, Hagrid." Cried Charlie.

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.**

**"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm — er — not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff — one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job —"**

"Glad to help, Hagrid!" beamed Harry.

**"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.**

**"Oh, well — I was at Hogwarts meself but I — er — got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."**

**"Why were you expelled?"**

"Harry, dear, that's personal." Said Molly, not quite scolding.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley."

**"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."**

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.**

**"You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."**

"And that's the end of the chapter." Announced Flitwick.

"Thank you, Filius. Now, I'd like to have a privet meeting with the Weasley family, Sirius, Remus, Aurors Tonks and Shacklebolt, Alastor, Madam Bones, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. Then we'll move on to the next chapter." Said Dumbledore.

And so, the mentioned persons, walked out the Great Hall.

* * *

**A.N.: What do you think about the story?**

**Will Harry and Bill's confrontation be soon? When is Dumbledore planning to tell Harry about the prophesy? How will Harry react? Will Harry get another detention? What would the Order and staff do if he does? And, who'll read the next chapter "Diagon Alley"?**

**See you next time!**


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